Mangaluru: Gulf returnees pour out their woes at consultation meet

New Delhi, May 9: The Finance Ministry on Friday announced relief to those who have been facing difficulty with their residency status in India under section 6 of the Income-tax Act due to lockdown and suspension of international flights owing to COIVD-19 outbreak, as they have had to prolong their stay in India.

According to a Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) release, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today allowed discounting of prolonged stay period in India for the purpose of determining residency status after considering various representations received from people who had to prolong their stay in India due to lockdown and suspension of international flights.

They expressed concern that they will be required to file tax returns as Indian residents and not as NRIs after 120 days of stay.

The Finance Ministry stated that the lockdown continues during the financial year 2020-21 and it is not yet clear when international flight operations would resume, a circular excluding the period of stay of these individuals up to the date of resumption of international flight operations shall be issued for determination of the residential status for the financial year 2020-21.

A circular also said that in order to avoid genuine hardship in such cases, the CBDT has decided that for the purposes of determining the residential status under section 6 of the Act during the previous year 2019-20 in respect of an individual who has come to India on a visit before March 22, 2020 and:

(a) has been unable to leave India on or before March 31, 2020, his period of stay in India from March 22, 2020 to March 31, 2020 shall not be taken into account; or

(b) has been quarantined in India on account of novel coronavirus (Covid-19) on or after March 1, 2020 and has departed on an evacuation flight on or before March 31, 2020 or has been unable to leave India on or before March 31, 2020, his period of stay from the beginning of his quarantine to his date of departure or March 31, 2020, as the case may be, shall not be taken into account; or

(c) has departed on an evacuation flight on or before March 31, 2020, his period of stay in India from March 22, 2020 to his date of departure shall not be taken into account."

The release said there are number of individuals who had come on a visit to India during the previous year 2019-20 for a particular duration and intended to leave India before the end of the previous year for maintaining their status as non-resident or not ordinary resident in India.

"However, due to declaration of the lockdown and suspension of international flights owing to outbreak of COVID-19, they are required to prolong their stay in India. The status of an individual whether he is resident in India or a non-resident or not ordinarily resident, is dependent, inter-alia, on the period for which the person is in India during a year," it said.

Bengaluru, Feb 12: Hinting at the possibility of a consolidation of ex-Janata Parivar leaders, JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda said Tuesday his party was open to talk to any former Janata leaders, who are at present either in various factions of the Janata Dal or in Congress and BJP. The veteran leader also appreciated Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP's way of work.

At the party's National Executive Committee meeting held here, Gowda said that some ex-Janata Parivar leaders had reached out to him in this regard. His comments come at a time when JD(U) leader Mahima Patel recently rekindled the debate of a unified Janata Parivar.

However, Deve Gowda was clear that he was not interested in pursuing anyone who was happy with the party they were in. "It's a waste of time to pursue someone who has seen success within their party. I am not going to do that. I am willing to persuade only those who are not holding any office at present," he said. He added that he had already asked party leaders in Kerala to take the initiative and figure out ways to bring leaders together. As for other places, it would take him some time to reach out people, he added.

The party, which organised the National Executive Meet here on February 10 and 11, spoke of strategies to rejuvenate the party from the grassroots level. The party is also conducting a membership drive.

'Much to learn from AAP'

There is much to learn from Aam Aadmi Party, which registered a victory in Delhi elections on Tuesday, said Devegowda. "Kejriwal has showed that caste does not matter. There is lesson to be learnt from the work done by AAP," he said. Later in the day, Deve Gowda also wrote a letter to Arvind Kejriwal, congratulating him on his victory.

On the occasion, the party also came up with resolutions to urge the central government to release pending amount of GST it owed to state governments apart from focusing on development of labour, industries and agriculture; to demand the centre to rollback decision on CAA, NRC and NPR and to urge the centre to pass the women's reservation bill.

At the JD(S) National Executive Meet, even as news poured in about the victory of Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi elections, the JD(S) leaders celebrated Arvind Kejriwal's victory. Seeing it as an optimistic sign for regional parties across the country, the leaders distributed sweets to mark the hat trick win of Kejriwal.

Bengaluru, Jan 19: Two college students have been arrested for allegedly spiking their female friend's drink and sexually assaulting her in Bengaluru.

The 19-year-old victim filed a complaint against the two accused, following which they were nabbed. In her complaint, the victim said that the two friends persuaded her to accompany them in a party where one of them allegedly spiked her drink.

Feeling unwell, she wanted to return to her PG, but the two managed to convince her to stay back at their place, where they allegedly sexually assaulted her.

"After some time one of my friends gave me something to drink and I vomited. I felt uneasy and decided to return to my PG. However, he forced me to go to his house stating that I was not in a condition to go to my PG. He convinced me saying that I can go home in the morning. I did not suspect any foul-play as he was a friend," the victim was quoted as saying by the publication.