EXTENSION OF DUE DATE OF FORM GSTR-1 FOR TAXPAYERS HAVING
AGGREGATE TURNOVER MORE THAN RS. 1.5 CRORES
In exercise of the powers
conferred by the second proviso to sub-section (1) of section 37 read with
section 168 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (12 of 2017), the
Commissioner, on the recommendations of the Council, hereby makes the following
amendments in the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of
Finance (Department of Revenue), No. 44/2018- Central Tax, dated the 10th
September, 2018, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II,
Section 3, sub-section (i) vide number G.S.R. 855(E), dated the 10th September,
2018, namely:–
In the said notification,
in the first paragraph, after the fourth proviso, the following proviso shall
be inserted, namely: – Provided also that the details of outward supply of
goods or services or both in FORM GSTR-1 of the Central Goods and Services Tax
Rules, 2017 for the month of March, 2019 shall be furnished electronically
through the common portal, on or before the 13th April, 2019
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EXTENSION OF DUE DATE FOR FILING FORM GSTR-7 TDS RETURN FOR
THE MONTH OF MARCH 2019
In exercise of the powers
conferred by sub-section (6) of section 39 read with section 168 of the Central
Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (12 of 2017) (hereinafter referred to as the
said Act), the Commissioner hereby extends the time limit for furnishing the
return by a registered person required to deduct tax at source under the
provisions of section 51 of the said Act in FORM GSTR-7 of the Central Goods and
Services Tax Rules, 2017 under sub-section (3) of section 39 of the said Act
read with rule 66 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017 for the
month of March, 2019 till the 12th day of April, 2019
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ICAI ISSUES FAQS ON VALUATION
The role of the valuation
professionals has become dynamic and they are required to sharpen their skills
and perform their duties with due diligence and to abide by the Code of Conduct
prescribed by ICAI Registered Valuers Organisation. ICAI Registered Valuers
Organisation in this direction is taking steps for guiding and helping the
professionals alongwith the Valuation Standards Board of ICAI. The Valuation
Standards Board of ICAI and ICAI Registered Valuers Organisation (ICAI RVO) has
came together to bring out the publication on ‘Frequently Asked Questions on
Valuation’ to accomplish the common vision of encouraging the Valuation
profession. The FAQ is issued to facilitate the understanding of nuisances of
valuation. The publication has been designed in a question and answer format to
assist our members and other stakeholders to enable them to have conceptual
clarity on the various Valuation aspects. This publication comprehensively
covers questions that are being asked while undertaking the Valuation of
Securities or Financial assets.
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ITR-1 FOR FY2018-19 ASKS FOR INTEREST INCOME BREAK-UP FROM TAX
PAYERS
This year you will have to
give break-up of your interest income when filing the basic income tax return
(ITR) form, ITR 1. This will make it difficult to claim wrong tax breaks
relating to interest income as the income tax department will be able to detect
this easily. From FY 2018-19, senior citizens will be allowed to claim up to Rs
50,000 as deduction from interest income from bank and post office fixed
deposits. When only a consolidated interest figure is to be given in the tax
return, the tax department would find it difficult to check whether the
deductions were being claimed correctly, i.e., from interest income from the
specified income source. Interestingly, details of all savings accounts held by
the tax payer are already required to be filled into the ITR so it becomes easy
for the department to ascertain whether a person actually earned the amount
claimed as deduction under section 80TTA as interest on savings account. The
latest income tax return form -1 for the FY 2018-19 asks taxpayers to provide
full break-up of the interest income and income from any other sources received
during the year. The latest ITR-1 form software utility, which is now available
on the income tax e-filing website, provides a drop down menu from which a
taxpayer is required to choose and specify the source of interest income. In
the ITR-1, five sources of 'Other income' are specified namely interest from
savings account, interest from deposits (Bank/Post office/Cooperative society),
interest from income tax refund, family pension and any other. In case the
'other' option is selected by the individual, then he/she is required to
provide the details of the income received.
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GST EVASION IN GUJARAT: RS 360 CRORE RECOVERED IN 1,500 CASES
The Goods and Service Tax
(GST) department has registered over 1,470 cases of tax evasion in the
financial year 2018-19 and recovered around Rs 360 crore in Gujarat. The
authorities had also arrested 14 businessmen for tax evasion. The biggest case
of evasion was registered at Gondal town in Rajkot district after the
authorities unearthed a fake billing racket of nearly Rs 470 crore. In
connection with the case, three persons were arrested, he said.
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PROTECTIONISM, COMMODITY PRICES, INADEQUATE LIQUIDITY ARE
MAJOR CHALLENGES FOR EXPORTERS: FIEO
Rising protectionism,
fluctuation in commodity prices and inadequate availability of liquidity are
the three major challenges which exporters will face in the coming months,
exporters body FIEO said. Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said
the WTO has already cautioned that the global trade growth is expected to be
lower in 2019 than it was last year. Protectionism will continue to rise and it
will impact global demand for goods, Ajay Sahai told. He said that the other
two challenges include fluctuation in commodity prices and inadequate
availability of credit as banks are not coming forward to lend exporters. These
challenges would impact India's exports, so we need to gear up for this. Timely
support by the government would help deal with these issues, he added. Sahai
suggested the banks to follow online procedure for credit lending as it will
ease the processes. The WTO had in its preliminary estimates predicted a 3.7
per cent expansion of global trade for this year, but has revised that down to
2.6 per cent. Further, he said that as per the current growth rate, India's
merchandise exports will touch USD 330 billion in 2018-19. During the
April-February period of 2018-19, exports grew 8.85 per cent to USD 298.47
billion, while imports rose by 9.75 per cent to USD 464 billion. Since 2011-12,
India's exports have been hovering at around USD 300 billion. During 2017-18,
the overseas shipments grew by about 10 per cent to USD 303 billion and in
2013-14, it aggregated at about USD 315 billion. Promoting exports helps a
country to create jobs, boost manufacturing and earn more foreign exchange.
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‘REASON TO BELIEVE’ A MANDATORY REQUIREMENT TO CONDUCT SEARCH
AND SEIZURES UNDER GST: ALLAHABAD HC
The Allahabad High Court
has recently held that the ‘reasons to believe’ are mandatory to conduct search
and seizures procedure adopted as per the State GST Acts. The Assessee, Rimjhim
Ispat Limited, had their factory premise being subjected to a search party,
consisting of the Officers of U.P. GST/Commercial Tax Department. It has
further been alleged that the authorized signatory of the petitioner-company
Sri Sunil Gupta was not present at the time of search however, he was called
and was manhandled and pressurized to admit large scale tax evasion. It is
alleged that he was asked to sign on some blank papers which were used for
drawing the Panchnama. It was further stated that the stocks of the raw-
materials as well as finished goods were not weighed despite the insistence of
Sri Sunil Gupta. The search party was informed that the raw-materials were duly
covered by the tax invoices and E-way bills and they were fully reflected in
the books of accounts. It was further alleged the factory premises had a
computerized weigh bridge installed, however, the revenue department did not
weigh the raw-materials as well as the finished products and recorded highly
exaggerated figures on the basis of assumptions in the Panchnama therefore
further alleging that the list attached to the Panchanama was based on mere
physical verification and eye estimation and the entries recorded therein were
arbitrary. Owing to the failure of the authority to counter the claim of the
petitioner of the lack of ‘reasons to believe’, Justice Pankaj Mithal and
Justice Pankaj Bhatia disposed of the writ petition. it is essential that the
officer authorizing the search should have ‘reasons to believe.’ The principles
that are culled out from the catena of decisions referred above is that the
‘reasons to believe’ should exist and should be based on reasonable material
and should not be fanciful or arbitrary. It is also established that this Court
in exercise of its powers under Article 226 cannot go into the sufficiency of
the reasons and should not sit as an appellate court over the reasons recorded.
It is also well established that the reasons may or may not be communicated to
the assessee but the same should exist on record, the Court said.
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NO EXCISE DUTY CAN BE CHARGED ON 'DHARMADA' RECEIPTS BY
ASSESSEES: SC
When an amount is paid as
Dharmada along with the sale price of goods such payment is not made in
consideration of the transfer of goods, and thus cannot be included in the
transaction value for the purposes of assessments for excise duty, the Supreme
Court held on Tuesday. The Excise raised a demand of duty in respect of
Dharmada collected by M/s D.J. Malpani, claiming it was part of the price for
the sale of manufactured goods and included it for computing assessable value. The
Central Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) rejected the
contention of the assessee that Dharmada was not part of the transaction value.
It purported to follow the Supreme Court judgment in Collector vs. Panchmukhi
Engineering Works, whereby this Court held that Dharmada charged by the
assessee is liable to be included in the assessable value In its appeal before
two judge bench of Supreme Court, it was contended that the decision in
Panchmukhi (supra) followed an earlier decision of Tata Iron & Steel
Co.Ltd. vs. Collector of Central Excise, Jamshedpur, which did not apply to the
present case at all. Rather, it was urged that the applicable precedent is the
judgment in Commissioner of Income Tax (Central) Delhi, New Delhi vs. Bijli
Cotton Mills (P) Ltd. Hathras, District Aligarh, which had held that amounts
received for Dharmada and earmarked for charitable purposes are amounts
received by the assessee under an obligation to spend the same for charitable
purposes, and thus these receipts cannot be regarded as income of the assessee.
Noticing the conflict between these two judgments, the matter was referred to
larger bench. The three judge bench comprising of Justice SA Bobde, Justice
Deepak Gupta and Justice Vineet Saran, referring to provisions, observed that
an amount is paid at the time of the sale transaction for a purpose other than
the price of the goods, it cannot form part of the transaction value also for
the reason that such payment is not for the transaction of sale i.e. for the
transfer of possession of goods. Any payment made alongside such a transaction
cannot be treated as consideration for the goods, it said. The bench also
noticed that the Panchmukhi (supra) case was decided not after a discussion on
facts and law but because the counsel for the revenue submitted that the matter
is covered by the decision in Tata Iron & Steel (supra) and the counsel for
the assessee was not in a position to dispute this legal position. It also
noted that the dictum in Tata Iron & Steel (supra) concerned with
'surcharge' and thus not applicable to collection of Dharmada. The bench held
that Panchmukhi is not a good law and is not binding since it was decided
without argument, without reference to the crucial words of the rule, and
without any citation of authority. The bench observed We find from the facts of
the case before us that the receipts on account of Dharmada were voluntary,
earmarked for charity and in fact credited as such. Though the payment as
Dharmada has been found to be voluntary it would make no difference to the true
character and nature of the receipts even if there were found to be paid
compulsorily because the purchaser, purchased the goods out of their own
volition Answering the reference, the bench held: We hold that when an amount
is paid as Dharmada along with the sale price of goods, such payment is not
made in consideration of the transfer of goods. Such payment is meant for
charity and is received and held in trust by the seller. If such amounts are
meant to be credited to charity and do not form part of the income of the
assessee they cannot be included in the transaction value or assessable value
of the goods
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GST DEPT ASKS JALANDHAR DIVISON SCHOOLS FOR BOOK VENDOR
DETAILS
After the huge book
selling business of priests under the Diocese of Jalandhar coming to light
recently, the Jalandhar division of the Goods and Services Tax (GST)
department, has directed all the private schools in the division to provide the
details of the vendors/publishers supplying books/uniform to these schools. The
Jalandhar division covers revenue districts of Jalandhar, Amritsar and
Ludhiana. The department is also probing the book selling business of priest
Anthony Madassery, who under his firm Sahodhaya, has been selling textbooks
worth Rs 40 crore annually to around 70 schools across the state. They are
asked to provide the details of the vendors/publishers from which the students
of their respective schools are getting the books as in almost all the schools
the books/uniform vendors are recommended by the school authorities and
students have to purchase from there only, said a senior officer in the GST
department. Once we get the details of these vendors we will get the GST
registeration number from them to check the payment system, said sources.
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VENDORS FOR ALLOWING ITC UNDER GST FOR SUPPLIES MADE TO
RAILWAYS
The companies engaged in
manufacturing wagons and other equipment for railways are pressing for
rationalisation of the GST regime by allowing input tax credit on supplies made
to Indian Railways. In a representation to the finance ministry, the equipment
manufacturers have argued that in absence of input tax credit (ITC) both
vendors and Railways are suffering from avoidable burden of taxes. It was
pointed out that exclusion of railways rolling stock manufacturers from the
scope of refund was against the principle of the fiscal neutrality - one of the
main objectives of Goods and Services Tax (GST). The industry has suggested
that the IGST rate on locomotives and rolling stock be increased to 18 per
cent, which is the pre-GST rate, so that the entire amount of ITC could be
availed. Alternatively, it suggested that the revenue department should remove
restrictions on refund of accumulated unutilised ITC with respect to railway
locomotives and rolling stock. As per the industry, railways losing Rs 400-500
crore per month and the railway vendors too are losing an equivalent amount on
account of not passing the ITC benefits. Therefore, the total loss to the
railway ecosystem is more than Rs 1,000 crore per month.
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ARUN JAITLEY DISMISSES ALLEGATIONS OF POLITICAL VENDETTA; SAYS
I-T RAIDS ON BASIS OF MATERIAL EVIDENCE
Arun Jaitley Wednesday
said revenue department acts objectively and conducts search operations only on
the basis of material evidence. The searches are linked to suspected movement
of hawala money during the ongoing polls season and tax evasion. The opposition
parties, including the Congress, have dubbed the raids as politically motivated
Taking note of these raids, the Election Commission in its letter to Revenue
Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey had strongly advised that any action by its
enforcement agencies during election time should be neutral and
non-discriminatory and officials of the poll panel should be kept in loop about
such actions. It has become a routine practice to call any action against
corruption as political vendetta. Claim of vendetta has never been a legitimate
defence in corruption. Those who commit such large acts of corruption have to
be judged on the merits of the action itself, he said. Jaitley said none of the
two state governments (non-BJP ruled Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka) have replied
to the allegations on merits. Revenue Department acts objectively on the basis
of material available and take action when they are satisfied that a case of
search operation is made out, the minister said. Jaitley said that the act of
siphoning out money meant for vulnerable sections of society shows the
mindframe of those indulging in such activities. He said evidence has come to
light in public space that in Karnataka, allocations made for public welfare to
the Public Works Department were being round-tripped by engineers for a
political purpose. In Madhya Pradesh, he alleged, that an institutional
mechanism has been created where money meant for development and social welfare
of the weaker sections were being channelled into politics. He said, They do
not even spare those who live in destitution. This is the hypocrisy of Indian
politics. After inflicting such injustice they have the audacity to speak of
Nyay.
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EC OFFICIAL: ORDER RESTRAINING MODI BIOPIC ALSO APPLIES TO
NAMO TV
The Election Commission
order banning the screening of the biopic on Prime Minister Narendra Modi also
applies to NaMo TV, which also cannot be aired during the poll period, a senior
official of the poll panel said on Wednesday. The official referred to a
paragraph in the order which said, that any poster or publicity material concerning
any such certified content, which either depicts a candidate (including
prospective) for the furtherance (or purported to further) of electoral
prospects, directly or indirectly, shall not be put on display in electronic
media in the area where MCC is in force. The EC has banned the release of the
Modi biopic, saying any such film that subserves purpose of any political
entity or individual should not be displayed in the electronic media.
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DEMO WAS A BIG SCAM, CLAIMS SIBAL; BJP TO SUE HIM OVER REMARK
Kapil Sibal levelled
serious charges against the Narendra Modi government here on Tuesday and showed
an alleged sting operation to prove that certain State agencies were used by
the BJP to make demonetisation work. The BJP has termed the revelations as fake
and said it will take legal action against the Congress. Sibal said that
post-demonetisation, a team of government officials, drawn from different
departments, was engaged in the exchange of old notes for the new. He said Modi
started his tenure by fooling the people. He ends his five-year term by
traumatising us. Demonetisation was a surgical strike on the poor. It robbed
them of their earnings. But it provided an opportunity for the rich to convert
their unaccounted cash by manipulating the banking system. It is the biggest
scam in the history of India. Who benefitted from this scam, needs to be
investigated, he said and added that the sting operation gave a glimpse of the
nature of the scam. He claimed the involvement of the BJP, along with bankers,
government and its officials, including those who enforce the law. If this is
true, and the treasury can be looted in this fashion, then we all need to be
alert to the dangers that lie ahead. The forces, if involved in such an
enterprise, are not only anti-national but have committed treason, he added. He
said the clips identify individuals who can easily be investigated and
confronted. Can we expect partisan agencies, who serve the bidding of the
government, to act? When the agencies align themselves with the government in
power, democracy is in jeopardy. We must save our democracy at any cost, he
added.
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NO PROCEEDINGS AGAINST TOP DEVELOPER: ENFORCEMENT DIRECTORATE
More than two years after
so-called activists filed a complaint with a barrage of baseless allegations,
the Enforcement Directorate has finally given a clean chit to Avighna
Developers. We conducted a preliminary inquiry into the allegations and found
nothing. There is no FIR and no pending proceeding in the case now, ED sources
told. In November 2016, there was a storm in the media that the ED was
investigating into allegations of money laundering involving a former Chief
Minister of Maharashtra and the involvement of a leading city developer in the
scheme of things. It turns out that the smear campaign by motivated elements
was launched to target the developer's reputation, and the clean chit comes as
an apt closure for the Avighna management. In their complaint to ED, the
mischievous elements had alleged that the former CM had ploughed his funds
through offshore routes into a luxury housing project of Avighna Group in
Parel. On their part, the ED officials maintain that only a 'preliminary
inquiry' was conducted to ascertain the facts related to the case and it was
found that there is no substance in the allegations. The Avighna Group
approached the ED officials immediately after the allegations surfaced in 2016
and showed them all the relevant papers. The ED accepted our submissions,
ceased further investigations in the case and the clean chit by ED is a logical
closure in the matter, said Kailash Agarwal, chairman of Avighna Group. He
added that it was a malicious operation by elements with vested interests. The
allegations about a former CM investing funds in Avighna Group were baseless.
No politician has ever invested a single rupee in Avighna Group at any point
and our books clearly reflect this, said the NRI businessman.
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SC RESERVES ORDER ON PIL CHALLENGING CENTRE'S ELECTORAL BONDS
SCHEME FOR POLITICAL FUNDING
The Supreme Court Thursday
reserved its order on a PIL challenging the government's electoral bond scheme
for political funding. A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said it
would pronounce its order tomorrow on the plea filed by NGO, Association of
Democratic Reforms (ADR). The NGO, which has challenged the validity of the
scheme, has sought interim relief including that either the issuance of
electoral bonds be stayed or the names of the donors be made public to ensure
transparency in the poll process. Attorney General K K Venugopal, appearing for
the Centre, supported the scheme saying the purpose behind it is to eliminate
the use of black money in elections. So far as the electoral bond scheme is
concerned, it is the matter of policy decision of the government and no
government can be faulted for taking policy decision, Venugopal said, adding
the court can scrutinize the scheme after elections.
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SUPREME COURT REJECTS GOVERNMENT PLEA ON CLASSIFIED RAFALE
DOCUMENTS
RULING NOT A SETBACK FOR
US: RS PRASAD
We deem it proper to
dismiss the preliminary objections raised by the Union questioning the
maintainability of the review petitions, said the three-judge bench led by
chief justice Ranjan Gogoi. We hold that the review petitions will have to be
adjudicated on their own merit by taking into account relevance of the contents
of the three documents, admissibility of which, in the judicial decision-making
process, has been sought to be questioned. Petitioners Prashant Bhushan, Arun
Shourie and Yashwant Sinha urged the court to reexamine its December 14, 2018,
order refusing an independent probe into the deal in light of the new
revelations on the controversial deal, which figures prominently in the
opposition’s attacks against the government in the ongoing poll campaign.
Corruption has been a key campaign plank in the elections that get underway
today for both the government and the opposition, with the latter citing the
Rafale deal as an example of graft and crony capitalism. The bench unanimously
rejected the government’s objections to the court looking at these documents,
which came into the public domain after the December ruling, largely through
investigative reports in The Hindu newspaper. Ravi Shankar Prasad said the
ruling was not a setback for the government and the court had only agreed to
consider new evidence We are very sure that the review petition in the light of
these facts would not be considered, he said, adding it would probably be
dismissed.
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GOVT PECULIAR ARGUMENT DISMISSED, DELIGHTED: ARUN SHOURIE
Arun Shourie, one of the
review petitioners in the Rafale case, on Wednesday said he was delighted by
the unanimous verdict of the Supreme Court dismissing Centre’s peculiar
argument on admissibility of privileged documents. We are delighted it is an
unanimous verdict dismissing Central government’s peculiar argument on
admissibility of documents. Centre’s argument meant no wrong can be done in the
defence deal, he said. Senior CPI leader D Raja also welcomed the Supreme Court
order, saying truth has to be found out now. It is a setback and a slap in the
face for the government. The court has rejected the government’s argument. And
now what is the answer from (Narendra) Modi and Arun Jaitley who were referring
to Supreme Court all the time on the clean chit, the CPI national secretary
said. Hitting out at the NDA government, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury
claimed it was clear that the government had concealed many truths as far as
the deal was concerned. This (SC order) the government of India, the Modi
Government, hoped will not happen, Yechury said. There is a very, very big scam
involved in the deal. Why did you renegotiate the deal Mr Modi, because there
was a massive degree of corruption in this deal, he said.
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POOR BECAME POORER, RICH GOT RICHER UNDER BJP RULE: MAYAWATI
Mayawati slammed the
Bharatiya Janata Party saying the central government had made the poor, poorer
and the rich, richer through its policies and schemes. Canvassing for her party
candidates here, Mayawati said the Goods and Services Tax rolled out by the
Centre had largely affected small and medium scale industries across the
country. BJP has made the poor, poorer and the rich, richer. Goods and Services
Tax has largely affected the small and medium scale industries, she said. The
ruling BJP had rolled out Goods and Services Tax on July 1, 2017.
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MAYAWATI, PM MODI SPEECHES UNDER ELECTION COMMISSION LENS
The Election Commission is
set to issue a notice to Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati over communal
remarks she allegedly made at a rally in Deoband, said people with knowledge of
the matter. The commission has also sought the transcript of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s recent speech in which he exhorted first-time voters to
dedicate their ballot to those who died in the Pulwama terrorist attack and
those who took part in the Balakot offensive against Pakistan. The Opposition
has alleged that this violated the model code of conduct. The EC issued a
notice on Wednesday to Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao over
supposedly communal references following a complaint filed by the state
president of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP). The poll panel had cautioned
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath last week over calling the Indian
Army Modiji ki Sena. The Congress wants to ensure that the alliance does not
win. The Congress is trying to help the BJP in this election, Mayawati had
said. The chief electoral officer of Uttar Pradesh had submitted a report on
the statement to the EC after seeking the speech transcript and the Saharanpur
district magistrate’s report to assess whether Mayawati’s comments violated the
model code of conduct.
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EC REPRIMANDS REVENUE DEPARTMENT OVER 'TONE AND TENOR' OF
RESPONSE TO POLL PANEL'S ADVISORY
The Election Commission on
Wednesday reprimanded the department of revenue over the tone and tenor of its
April 8 advisory seeking to remind the poll panel of its responsibility to
eliminate use of unaccounted money in elections Objecting to the
counter-advisory to EC's April 7 advisory asking revenue department to keep
enforcement actions during polls neutral, impartial and non-discriminatory, EC
said the tone and tenor used to address a constitutional authority was totally
against established protocol. The commission has noted with extreme
displeasure, the tone and tenor used for addressing a constitutional authority
in stark violation of the established protocol. Therefore, the commission
reprimands the department of revenue for making unwarranted remarks and expects
that the directions issued by the commission in the said advisory (dated April
7) are followed in letter as well as in spirit, the commission said in a letter
to the revenue secretary. The letter made it clear that EC was deeply anguished
about the casual and trivial manner in which the advisory to be absolutely
neutral, impartial and non-discriminatory had been responded to by the
department of revenue in a letter to EC dated April 8. Instead of detailing the
modalities of implementing the advisory, department insolently chose to issue a
counter advisory, noted the poll body. The department of revenue, which falls
under finance ministry, had on Tuesday responded to EC’s strong advice asking
it to take enforcement actions based on information and actionable intelligence
and keep such actions neutral, impartial and non-discriminatory, saying that it
was already following these practices as per rule. A day after the revenue
department's counter-advisory, EC had met the revenue secretary and CBDT
chairman and asked them to inform the state chief electoral officer concerned
or director general in charge of election expenditure in ECI of all enforcement
actions related to poll money, soon after they get underway.
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BHOPAL POLICE REGISTERS FIR IN E-TENDER SCAM
Rs 2000 crore worth
e-tender scam, the Economic Offence Wing of Bhopal police have registered an
FIR against unknown politicians, state bureaucrats and top executives of seven
companies after a forensic examination confirmed that online bidding processes
were rigged to favour a few private players. KN Tiwari told that price bids of
seven companies were unauthorisedly changed to ensure that they emerge winners.
The EOW believes that the scam is worth Rs 3000 crore. Documentary evidences
and technical evaluation of e-tendering process, stated the EOW, revealed that
the procurement portal was tampered in nine tendering process to provide
benefits to five private companies which were based out of Hyderabad, Mumbai,
Baroda and Bhopal. They include GVPR Ltd, Max Mantena Ltd, The Hume Pipe Ltd,
JMC Ltd, Sorthiya Belji Pvt ltd. Three tenders of Madhya Pradesh Jal Nigam, two
each of Public Works Department and Water Resources department, and one of
Madhya Pradesh Road Development Corporation, Public Works department's Project
Implementation Unit were rigged, said the state police in its FIR. The EOW has
booked Managing Directors and Directors of these nine private firms as accused
along with unnamed politicians and officials of MPSEDC, state department,
Antares pvt Ltd and Tata Consultancy Services under various sections of Indian
Penal Code such for criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery and fraudulent use
of forged data as genuine. Besides, the police has also slapped section 66 of
the IT Act, 2000, which criminalises the act of sending messages to deceive
recipient, and section 7 of the Prevention of Coruption Act which says its an
offence to influence public servants through corrupt and illegal means.
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175 KG GOLD BARS WORTH RS 56 CRORE SEIZED IN CHENNAI
A state police team on
Tuesday night seized 175kg of gold bars worth ₹56 crore from a van during
a vehicle check on Chennai’s outskirts. The van was part of a three-vehicle convoy. While
the seven men in the vehicles said they were transporting the gold to a state
government office in T Nagar and produced documents as proof, police said they
had seized the consignment as they were not sure of its authenticity. According
to police, around midnight, a special team stationed at the Arambakkam
checkpost on the TN-Andhra Pradesh border stopped the vehicles coming towards
Chennai from the neighbouring state as part of the nationwide effort to curb
illegal cash flow during polls. A check found seven boxes, each weighing about
one kg, containing 25 gold bars in the van that was sandwiched between two
vehicles. There were four men, including two armed guards, in the van that had
two CCTV cameras. Though they produced some papers, police sent the cargo to
the Gummidipondi tahsildar’s office.
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VOTE FOR SOUL OF INDIA, RAHUL TELLS VOTERS
Rahul Gandhi on Thursday
urged voters to vote for the soul of India and its future while slamming the
Modi government for lying to the people in the past five years. He also
denounced the Modi government over demonetization and Goods and Services Tax
and also accused it of spreading distrust and hate. No 2 crore jobs. No 15
lakhs in bank accounts. No acche din. Instead: No jobs. Demonetization, farmers
in pain. Gabbar Singh Tax, Suit Boot Sarkar. Rafale. Lies Distrust. Violence.
Hate. Fear. You vote today for the soul of India. For her future, he said.
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TMC ACCUSES EC OF BIAS, SUBMITS MEMORANDUM AGAINST TRANSFER OF
TOP COPS IN WEST BENGAL
The Trinamool Congress
Wednesday accused the Election Commission of bias and submitted a memorandum to
the poll body against transfers of top police officers in West Bengal just
before the first phase of voting in the Lok Sabha elections. Party leaders
Derek O'Brien, Sukhendu Sekhar Ray and Chandan Mitra lodged a nine-point
memorandum protesting what they called was EC bias. People are saying Nirvachan
Commission has become Nikamma Commission. Enough is enough. Transfers of good,
honest senior police officers of Bengal are being decided by a traitor who now
works out of the BJP Central office in Kolkata, said Derek, indicating the hand
of former TMC MP Mukul Roy, who is now in the BJP, in the removal of the Cooch
Behar Superintendent of Police Abhishek Gupta by the poll body on April 9. In
the memorandum, the TMC has also said the removal of Kolkata Police
Commissioner Anuj Sharma along with those of Bidhan Nagar Police Commissioner
Gyanwant Singh, Birbhum SP Shyam Singh, Diamond Harbour SP S Selvamurugan and
Airport Division DCP Avaru Rabindranath, have been effected without following
proper procedure. In this case, we have observed that the transfers were made
soon after complaints were made and instructions issued by BJP leaders who
publicly claimed that such action were taken by the ECI at the initiative of
their party, the memorandum alleged.
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CASE FILED AGAINST PUNE COMPANY FOR CHEATING 25 INVESTORS OF
OVER RS 2 CRORE
At least 25 persons were
cheated to the tune of Rs 2.18 crore by a Pune-based company, which promised
them regular interest and high returns on investment in equities. A First
Information Report in this regard has been registered at the Shivajinagar
police station by a 37-year-old resident of Bopodi. Based on the complaint, the
police have booked the proprietor of the firm, who had an office on Fergusson
College Road that has shut down. As per the FIR, the company approached
individual investors in 2017 and accepted investments ranging from Rs 4 lakh to
Rs 20 lakh. The company promised investors 7 per cent interest and said the
returns on their investment in market equities will be deposited directly in
their accounts. The total investments of the 25 persons who have approached us
till now is Rs 2.18 crore. If more people approach us, we will include their
names.
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CHANDRASHEKHAR RAO PRIMA FACIE VIOLATED MODEL CODE BY MAKING
COMMUNAL REMARKS: ELECTION COMMISSION
The Election Commission of
India has taken a serious note of Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar
Rao’s comments against a religious community during his recent meeting in
Karimnagar district, and sought an explanation from the latter within two days.
In its notice to the Chief Minister, the ECI said it was, prima facie, of the
opinion that Mr. Rao’s remarks had the potential of disturbing the harmony and
aggravating the existing differences between social and religious communities
and appealing to communal feelings were violative of the modal code of conduct.
The poll panel was responding to a complaint that the Chief Minister tried to
secure votes by passing derogatory remarks. The Commission gives you (the Chief
Minister) an opportunity to submit explanation, if any in this regard on or
before 5 pm on April 12, failing which the Election Commission shall take a
decision without any further reference to you, ECI principal secretary S.K.
Rudola said in the notice.
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EVEN IN 55 YEARS OF OVERALL CONGRESS RULE, UP REMAINED
DEPRIVED OF ITS RIGHTS: AMIT SHAH
Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) president Amit Shah on Wednesday said that the Congress could not be
trusted as it had tampered with internal security He also added that Congress
had not given anything to Uttar Pradesh in its 55 years of its rule. Debt is
what Uttar Pradesh got from Congress in the UPA rule, even in the 55 years of
overall Congress rule UP remained deprived of its rights. They have played
around with national security by allowing illegal immigration to go on
unchecked for the sake of vote bank politics, Shah said at a public rally in
Kasganj. The BJP President also accused Congress of siding with Jammu and
Kashmir's Omar Abdullah's National Conference (NC) who he said had demanded for
a separate prime minister for Kashmir. The SP, BSP and Congress need to clarify
their stand on Abdullah's statement, he said. Shah also promised Rs 6,000
crores for farmers and reiterated BJP's promise of giving pension to farmers
and small businessmen.
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FIR FILED AGAINST DMK’S VELLORE LOK SABHA CANDIDATE
Police on Wednesday filed
an FIR against DMK’s Vellore candidate for the April 18 Lok Sabha polls and two
others in connection with the Income Tax raids held in the district recently. The
FIR has been filed against DMK nominee DM Kathir Anand under the Representation
of People Act for giving wrong information in his poll affidavit filed along
with his nomination papers, police said without divulging details. Police said
FIR has been filed against two others, identified as Srinivasan and Damodaran,
on bribery charges under the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Income Tax sleuths had on
March 30 conducted searches at the premises owned by Durai Murugan in this
district over suspected use of unaccounted money for electioneering and seized
Rs 10.50 lakh of alleged excess cash. Two days later, the I-T officials said
they had seized Rs 11.53 crore from a cement godown belonging to a DMK leader’s
associate in the same district. While a sum of Rs 19 lakh was found during the
raid, Rs 10.50 lakh was seized as excess after allowing the cash declared in
the election affidavit of Anand, they said.
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BKC BANK DUPED OF RS 85 LAKH IN DD SCAM
The Bandra Kurla Complex
police are on the lookout for unidentified accused persons who duped a reputed
private bank to the tune of Rs 85 lakhs. The fraud was being committed for over
a year and it came to light only when the bank was summing up the balance sheet
for the financial year 2018-19. According to the police, between February 23
last year and March 20 this year, the Standard Chartered's BKC branch had
issued several demand drafts (DD) payments in the names of private small-scale
accounts. When the bank officials were tallying the year's expenses and
revenue, they realised that a huge amount sent through DD payments were
missing. After an internal investigation was conducted, the bank officials
learnt that over 1231 DDs issued between February 23, 2018, and March 2019 were
misappropriated. A further investigation revealed the DDs, which were sent by a
courier service, Overnight Courier Limited, never reached their destined small
savings group accounts. The manager of Standard Chartered bank's BKC branch,
Shirish Kumar Goyal, approached the BKC police on March 20 and registered a
complaint against unknown persons. Kalpana Gadekar, a senior police inspector
of BKC police station, said, The unknown accused had misappropriated 1231 DDs
worth Rs 85 lakhs, endorsed them in a private bank and withdrew the money in
small amounts to avert suspicion. We are tracking all the DDs issued since
February 2018 and suspect an employee of the bank or the courier service to be
involved in the case.
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NEHRU RESPONSIBLE FOR MESSING UP KASHMIR ISSUE: MODI
Fuelling the ongoing
debate about Jammu & Kashmir's special status, Prime Minister Narendra Modi
on Wednesday held India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, directly
responsible for not following the ideology of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and
messing up the entire Kashmir issue. Modi hit out at the former Prime Minister
and the Congress for disregarding Sardar Patel in resolving the Kashmir issue.
On Kashmir, Modi said the Congress was using the language that Pakistan wants
to hear. Sardar Patel could successfully get Junagadh and the Nizam (of
Hydrabad) to join India. Pandit Nehru insisted on keeping the Kashmir issue
with him. (And) Today, we have this situation in Kashmir, where some leaders
demand there be two Prime Ministers and two constitutions. This is against the
country's unity and integrity as visualised by Sardar Patel, he said, adding
that the BJP would follow the principles of Sardar Patel and Shyama Prasad
Mukherjee, who sacrificed their life opposing the idea of two Prime Ministers
and two Constitutions in one country. Today's Congress manifesto is completely
opposite to Sardar Patel's thoughts. They want to remove the sedition law. How
can one expect such a thing from a 125-year-old party. This means, they want
the Tukde-Tukde gang to succeed in destroying the unity of the country. They
are trying to do what Pakistan wants to achieve. Aren't they traitors? Anyone
who respects those who sacrificed their lives for Kashmir in the last 70 years,
will never vote for Congress, Modi said, addressing the gathering in the local
language.
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I-T DEPT SEEKS LEGAL ACTION AGAINST KARNATAKA CM KUMARASWAMY,
DEPUTY CM PARAMESHWARA FOR INTIMIDATING OFFICERS
The income tax department
has written to the Chief Electoral Officer seeking legal action against Chief
Minister HD Kumaraswamy, Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara and a host of his
cabinet colleagues for allegedly intimidating tax officers and obstructing them
from discharging duties, sources said Tuesday. The chief minister, former chief
minister Siddaramaiah, and host of other state ministers along with their
supporters had staged a demonstration near the income tax office on March 28,
accusing the Centre of using central agencies such and income tax department,
enforcement directorate and CBI, to intimidate the opposition. The protests
took place when tax raids were in progress across the state. In his letter,
dated April 5, Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (Goa-Karnataka
region) B R Balakrishnan said, Reports in electronic media depict that the
protest was led by chief minister H D Kumaraswamy, Deputy Chief Minister G
Parameshwara, former chief minister Siddaramaiah, Ministers D K Shivakumar and
S R Mahesh, former home minister Ramalinga Reddy, Dinesh Gundu Rao, MLA and
KPCC president. This was followed by specific statements including personal
allegations against the director general of income tax by Ministers H D Revanna
and C S Puttaraju. The voluntary and disruptive actions of people holding high
offices obstructed public servants from discharging their public functions,
wrote Balakrishnan, adding that the protests aimed at derailing the ongoing
search proceedings against the contractors and engineers and causing damage to
the reputation of the personnel of the department. Balakrishnan, stated in his
letter, that when people holding high public offices including constitutional
posts, make false statements and instigate and involve in criminal activities
with the purpose of adversely affecting the process of the law and preventing
government officials form discharging their duties, such activities and
statements criminally intimidate and harm the personnel of the department with
greater intensity. The income tax official demanded cases should be registered
against all those who took part in the protests for unlawful assembly,
intentional insult, breach of peace, statements conducing to public mischief,
criminal intimidation, obstructing public servant from discharging their duties
and threat of injury to public servant under IPC sections 143, 504, 505, 506,
186 and 189. The raids since March 28 fetched unaccounted cash of Rs 8.14 crore
and unaccounted jewellery worth Rs 1.69 crore the department stated in the
letter adding that no MLA, MLC or minister was searched in the said
proceedings.
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IMRAN KHAN BELIEVES BETTER CHANCE OF PEACE WITH INDIA AND
SETTLE KASHMIR ISSUE IF BJP WINS LOK SABHA ELECTIONS
Pakistan’s Premier Imran
Khan has said he believes there may be a better chance of peace talks with
India and settle the Kashmir issue if Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party BJP
wins the general elections. India will go to elections in seven phases
beginning from Thursday. Perhaps if the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) wins, some
kind of settlement in Kashmir could be reached, Khan told. He said other
parties would be afraid of right-wing backlash in case of settlement on the
Kashmir issue. Khan said Kashmir was the central issue between the two
countries. India maintains that the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir is an
integral part of the country and Pakistan is in illegal occupation of a part of
the state’s territory. Khan has said that Pakistan was taking action against
all militants groups including the JeM. Khan said that groups like the JeM were
being disarmed under a serious drive to eliminate militancy from Pakistan. We
have taken the religious schools of these groups under state control. It is
first serious effort to disarm the militant outfits, he said. Khan said action
was taken because it was important for the future of Pakistan. He also rejected
the impression that Pakistan was compelled by the world to taken such an
action.
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CLASHES BETWEEN TDP, YSRC WORKERS; EVM GLITCHES AS POLLING
UNDERWAY IN ANDHRA PRADESH
Clashes broke out Thursday
between workers of Telugu Desam Party and YSR Congress at various places in
Andhra Pradesh even as technical glitches in Electronic Voting Machines
hampered the poll process at numerous polling booths as voting got underway for
25 Lok Sabha and 175 Assembly seats. In Guntakal, former MLA and contesting
candidate of Jana Sena Party, Madhusudan Gupta, smashed an EVM in a fit of rage
alleging that party symbols were not properly printed on the ballot unit. A
mandal parishad member of YSRC was seriously injured when TDP workers allegedly
attacked him at a polling station in Eluru city. In Jammalamadugu in Kadapa
district, tension prevailed in Ponnathota village as YSRC and TDP workers
indulged in stone-throwing. In a statement, the CEO asked people not to believe
in rumours as the poll process was going on peacefully. He said the technical
defects in EVMs, reported from various places, have been rectified.
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CHIT FUND SCAM IN WEST BENGAL: A LONG WAIT FOR JUSTICE
Mohammad Naserruddin, a
doctor by profession, has been living a life of a fugitive for the last six
years. He had raised close to Rs one crore deposits from his neighbours and
friends for Rose Valley, one of the busted ponzi companies in West Bengal. As
the ponzi scam, popularly known as chit fund scam, broke out in April 2013, and
the company started defaulting payments, people started flocking at
Naserruddin’s home, threatening and abusing him. Six years after the scam, the
anger of people has not smothered. Some days, only during nights, Nasseruddin
covertly sneaks into his home. Most of the days he dwells in different parts of
Kolkata, frequently changing addresses. Naserruddin is not alone. His fate is
shared by many more. Even as CBI investigation into the chit fund scam turns
out a political slug fest depositors are fighting a lone legal battle under the
aegis of Amanatkari O Agent Suraksha Manch, an open forum for all ponzi-scheme
affected people in West Bengal. According to data from the forum, nearly 250
million people are impacted by the scam, involving a sum of Rs 2 trillion. CBI
team had reached the residence of former Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev
Kumar in relation the scam, when Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee openly
came out to salvage Kumar and raised a dharna against the Centre. While
Banerjee has been blaming the former Left Front government for the scam, BJP’s
campaign in the state revolves around the involvement of TMC leaders in the
scam. On a Tuesday afternoon, just as poll campaign is coming to a close ahead
of the first phase of election in parts of West Bengal, close to 500 people
have assembled outside the Calcutta High Court. A divisional bench is hearing
issues related to role of Enforcement Directorate in returning money to the
depositors and the relevance of recently enacted Banning of Unregulated Deposit
Scheme Ordinance, 2019 in the scam. Only a handful of people could enter the
courtroom, as it runs out of space. Rest squatter outside and many more wait on
roads for a lawyer to brief them. Many have travelled overnight and some
started before daybreak to be at court premises by 3 PM, when the hearing
started. Every month, at least three to four times a month, they assemble
outside the court to update themselves about the latest legal status of the
process of return of money. We have been dying a silent death for the last six
years. Neither the Centre nor the state is helping us, rather they are coming
up with new ways to create stumbling block for return of money, says Binay
Kumar Ray, who has been running his family by conducting tuition classes,
earning a paltry Rs 3000 per month. He lost his own savings of Rs 10 lakh, and
another 25 lakh of his clients. As the politics surrounding the scam have
heightened around elections, cases of close to 143 companies are to meet
logical end of money disbursement through sale of assets of the firms. So far,
only about 48 are referred to the specific committee in-charge of the
disbursement mechanism. The state government imposed a sin tax to raise Rs 500
crore to be disbursed among the victims. According to Tarak Sarkar, secretary
of the Amanatkari O Agent Suraksha Manch, only Rs 251 crore was disbursed, and
out of which cheques worth Rs 102 crore went on wrong addresses. In November
2014, the government wrapped up committee as government realized that it was
beyond its purview of return money dealt between private firms and individuals.
The depositors’ forum them moved High Court as suggested by SC. The Calcutta
High Court created a special bench to look into the matter. The bench directed
the creation of two sets of committee—one for returning money to the depositors
of Rose Valley and another for rest of the companies. According to Sarkar,
Alcemist has the biggest share in the scam with close to Rs 70000 crore,
followed by Rose Valley at Rs 35000 crore and KWIL at Rs 12000 crore. The size
of Sarada scam is pegged at around Rs 3000 crore.
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VEDANTA MOVES SUPREME COURT FOR ACCESS TO TUTICORIN UNIT
Vedanta Ltd on Wednesday
moved the Supreme Court for access to closed copper plant in Tuticorin, Tamil
Nadu, for repair and maintenance. It cited the high court’s ‘inordinate delay’
in hearing the case and quantified loss at Rs 5 crore daily. The top court had
earlier this year directed the company to move the Madras High Court against a
Tamil Nadu State Pollution Control Board order that shut it down, after setting
aside an NGT order which had directed that it be reopened subject to taking all
safeguards. Vedanta claimed it had informed the high court about the lack of
maintenance at the facility, which posed major environmental hazards. Lack of
maintenance of assets has resulted in a loss of over Rs 100 crore, it said.
Despite clarifying that the state government’s power supply was not enough to
restore production and giving an undertaking to that effect, the high court was
yet to give any interim relief to it, the appeal said. Vedanta claimed it was
also willing to bear any costs for this. The company said its plant was worth
around Rs 3,000 crore and if the high court did not eventually allow it restart
operations, it would need to transport and assemble equipment to another
location. The appeal claimed that the high court had cited paucity of time to
deal with its request to allow it access to its plant. It also brought on
record a request by one of the petitioners in the case, MDMK leader Vaiko, for
an adjournment of the case till after the Assembly polls in the state. The case
in the high court had since been adjourned to April 23, days before court shuts
down for vacation. The petitioner made it very clear that its intention was
solely to preserve its assets and for such purpose alone, commence repair and
maintenance activities, the appeal said.
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WIFE OF NISSAN EX-EXEC CARLOS GHOSN TO BE QUESTIONED IN TOKYO
COURT
The wife of Nissan's
former Chairman Carlos Ghosn will be questioned by prosecutors in a Tokyo court
Thursday, after her husband was taken into custody on financial misconduct
allegations. A person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press
that Carole Ghosn is not a suspect and will be questioned voluntarily with
Ghosn's legal team present. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because
of the sensitivity of the matter. Carlos Ghosn was arrested in November and
charged with falsifying financial documents and breach of trust while leading
the Japanese automaker. The charges allege he under-reported his retirement
income and had Nissan shoulder dubious payments and investment losses. He says
he is innocent. He was released on bail last month but rearrested last week.
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INDIAN STUDENTS URGED TO 'EXERCISE DUE DILIGENCE' BEFORE
TAKING ADMISSION IN US VARSITIES
Students from India are
advised to exercise their due diligence before seeking admission into American
universities, the Indian Embassy here has said, months after over 100 Indians
landed in trouble for enroling at a fake educational institution set up by US
authorities to expose immigration fraud. In the unusual advisory, Indian
students are advised to take into account several factors, in particular three
questions. Does the university function from a campus or merely maintains a
website and has administrative premises only? If not, such universities are not
to be regarded as a bonafide educational institution and admission into such
universities should be avoided. Does the university have a faculty and regular
instructors/educators? If not, admissions to such universities should be
avoided. It may be noted that such universities typically employ only
administrative staff and their websites have no information in respect of
faculty, the advisory said. Does the university have a proper curriculum, hold
regular classes and actively implement academic or educational activity? If
not, admissions to such universities may be avoided. This advisory is not
exhaustive and intended only to provide general guidance to the students in
taking the right decision while seeking admission in US universities, the Indian
Embassy added.
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JALLIANWALA BAGH TRAGEDY SHAMEFUL SCAR ON BRITISH INDIAN
HISTORY: UK PM THERESA MAY
Three days ahead of the
centenary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, UK Prime Minister Theresa May
called the tragedy a shameful scar on British Indian history. The statement is
in line with Britain’s position since the mid-1990s of expressing ‘deep regret’
for the April 13, 1919, massacre in Jallianwala Bagh and not issuing a formal
apology. In a statement, marking the 100th anniversary of the massacre, at the
start of her weekly Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons, she
reiterated the regret already expressed by the British Government. The tragedy
of Jallianwala Bagh of 1919 is a shameful scar on British Indian history. As
Her Majesty the Queen (Elizabeth II) said before visiting Jallianwala Bagh in
1997, it is a distressing example of our past history with India, she said. We
deeply regret what happened and the suffering caused. I am pleased that today
the UK-India relationship is one of collaboration, partnership, prosperity and
security. Indian diaspora make an enormous contribution to British society and
I am sure the whole House wishes to see the UK’s relationship with India
continue to flourish, she said. The UK government had flagged financial
implications as one of the factors it had to consider while reflecting upon
demands for a formal apology. I feel little reluctant to make apologies for
things that have happened in the past. There are also concerns that any
government department has to make about an apology, given that there may well
be financial implications to making an apology, he said. On Wednesday, Punjab
minister Navjot Singh Sidhu asked Chief Minister Amarinder Singh to write to
the Centre and the British government seeking the apology of the Prime Minister
of Britain for the Jallianwala Bagh incident.
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BRITISH MPS PASS LAW TO BLOCK NO-DEAL BREXIT
British MPs on Monday
passed a new law aimed at preventing a no-deal Brexit this week by obliging the
government to ask EU leaders for a delay. The law has been rushed through both
chambers of parliament over the past week and was opposed by the government,
which has said it could limit its room for negotiation with the European
Union.This is a huge dog's dinner, Andrea Leadsom, who represents the
government in parliament, told MPs. I fundamentally object to it on the grounds
that it is totally unconventional, she said. The law was passed on the
initiative of MPs, subverting the normal order in which parliament debates and
passes government-proposed legislation. As a result of the law, the government
now must put forward a motion in parliament on Tuesday setting out the delay
that it will request at an EU summit on Wednesday. MPs will be allowed to vote
on this and make their own suggestions as to the length of the delay. It allows
the government to seek any extension from May 22 onwards. Prime Minister
Theresa May has asked for a delay until June 30, but ultimately this is up to
EU leaders and it could be longer.The law does not actually prevent a no-deal
Brexit when the deadline for Britain runs out on Friday, as that is the legal
default if Britain and the EU cannot agree on an extension at the summitBritain
could also choose to stop the entire Brexit process by revoking Article 50, the
formal procedure for member states that want to leave.
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EU TO GRANT BREXIT DELAY BUT MAY DEMAND A LONGER EXTENSION AND
CONDITIONS
The European Union will
grant Prime Minister Theresa May a second delay to Brexit at an emergency
summit on Wednesday but the bloc’s leaders are likely to demand she accepts a
longer extension with conditions. In a sign of just how far the Brexit crisis
has sapped British power, May dashed to Berlin and Paris on the eve of the
summit to ask Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron to allow her to put off the
departure date to June 30 from April 12. But in Brussels, a flex tension until
the end of the year or until March 2020 was shaping up to be the most likely
option, EU diplomats said. Such an option would allow Britain to leave earlier
if the Brexit deadlock in London could be broken. While it was not immediately
clear what Merkel and Macron, Europe’s two most powerful leaders, agreed with
May, an advance draft of conclusions for Wednesday’s emergency EU summit said
Britain would be granted another delay on certain conditions The United Kingdom
shall facilitate the achievement of the Union’s tasks and refrain from any
measure which could jeopardize the attainment of the Union’s objectives. As a
full member state of the EU, Britain could in theory exercise a veto on any
major policy decision. The draft left the end-date blank pending a decision by
the other 27 national leaders on Wednesday evening in Brussels. In my view, a
short extension would not bring much, said Detlef Seif, deputy EU spokesman for
Merkel’s parliamentary group. There is no appetite to return to a new European
Council every six weeks to decide whether to renew the extension. In European
capitals, there was weariness and exasperation with Britain’s tortuous Brexit
divorce after 46 years of membership. Another EU official involved with Brexit
said no European power wanted the chaos that they fear a no-deal exit would sow
through financial markets and the EU 27’s $16 trillion economies. Nearly two
weeks after Britain was originally supposed to leave the EU, May, the weakest
British prime minister in a generation, has said she fears Brexit might never
happen as she battles to get a divorce deal ratified by a divided parliament.
After her pledge to resign
failed to get her deal over the line, she launched crisis talks with the
opposition Labour Party in the hope of breaking the domestic deadlock. But when
she arrives in Brussels, May will is unlikely to be able to trumpet any
breakthrough with Labour. After Tuesday’s round of talks, Labour said it had
not yet seen a clear shift in May’s stance.
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DONALD TRUMP'S TWEET USING 'BATMAN' MUSIC YANKED FOR COPYRIGHT
VIOLATION
#For Source of Information copy and paste the heading in google.
Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya
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