ALLSEC TECHNOLOGIES Stay updated. Stay connected.

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ALLSEC TECHNOLOGIES April 2015 Stay updated. Stay connected.

Transcript of ALLSEC TECHNOLOGIES Stay updated. Stay connected.

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A L L S E C T E C H N O L O G I E S

April 2015

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Workplace dynamics has transformed in the last few decades and there is no moredivision of work based on gender. This has paved way to a more open professionalatmosphere, thereby creating closer relationships between employees. As personal andprofessional lives become heavily intertwined, it becomes increasingly difficult to setconservative boundaries that are generally followed by many bigger and olderorganizations. In this scenario, it becomes important for an organization to lay downcertain policies and principles to ensure that there is a discernible line betweenregulated romance and sexual harassment.

As recent studies suggest, an organization‟s work culture and environment is essentialin determining the risk of sexual harassment amongst its employees. Non-action fromthe corporate room, to prevent and tackle the issue of sexual harassment, leads tovarious negative repercussions such as –

Decreased motivation and job satisfaction amongst employees Decreased productivity and non-achievement of goals Negative brand image

In its pursuit to tackle this issue, the Indian Government has taken a step forward byenacting the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition andRedressal) Act, 2013. As the name suggests, the Act attempts to ensure a safe andhealthy environment for women to work in, and covers all kinds of workplaces includingboth organized and unorganized sectors. The legislation has widened the scope of a„workplace‟ to also include a place that arises during the course of employment andincludes transportation provided by the workplace. The Act applies to all women atworkplaces, including domestic workers, volunteers and daily wagers who worktemporarily or permanently, part-time or full-time. The Act requires that anorganization puts certain checks in place to ensure that it provides a healthy workenvironment for women.

Women Empowerment at the Workplace

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Some major highlights of the Act are given below –

All workplaces are required to set up an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) toaddress the issue of sexual harassment of women. In addition, a Local ComplaintsCommittee (LCC) for each District will be set up where complaints can be filed.

An aggrieved woman can file a complaint within 3 months of the incident (may beextended by the Committee on request) and adequate inquiries are required to becompleted in 90 days.

At the request of the aggrieved employee, the ICC and LCC may recommend interimmeasures to the organization. Interim measures may include transfer of theaggrieved woman to another workplace or granting leave from work for up to 3months, in addition to regular contractual leave entitlement.

The aggrieved woman may choose to settle through conciliation, if she requests so.However, mere monetary compensation shall not constitute an appropriatesettlement.

In order to ensure that the legislation is not misused, the Act prescribes for actionagainst false / malicious complaints too.

The Act also places a moral duty on the organization to host regular workshops andawareness programs that will ensure that all employees are adequately educatedabout the issue.

Women Empowerment at the Workplace

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The Sexual Harassment Act has been a much expected legislation that is a progressivestep towards safety of working women in the country. However, one of the majorsetbacks the Act suffers is that it categorically protects only women, and does notprotect male employees against sexual harassment. In an environment where the gendergap is constantly decreasing, any legislation addressing the issue ought to address andprotect all genders.

Many organizations now follow a “casual workplace” policy which makes sexualharassment harder to identify and stop. A recent social survey highlights that manyemployees and employers do not fully understand what constitutes sexual harassment.In cases where such harassment is used as a measure of power struggle, it is difficult todistinguish between a person‟s overbearing behavior and harassment. Therefore, itbecomes increasingly important for an organization to establish a strong sexualharassment policy that will not blur the lines between professional and personalconduct. As companies move towards a more transparent and casual workplaceenvironment, an organization is required to positively engage its employees – not onlyto retain them, but also to keep them happy, comfortable and safe.

For more information on the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention,Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, please click on the following links –

http://www.iitg.ac.in/iitgicc/docs/Sexual_Harassment_Act_2013.pdf

http://wcd.nic.in/Implementionofsexualharssment.pdf

Women Empowerment at the Workplace

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Procedure for generating FVU for Form 24Q

Form 24Q is a quarterly statement of Tax Deduction andreports the employees‟ earnings and TDS withheld duringthe quarter. With the financial year coming to a close, it isvery important to do a complete check of the full financialyear earnings, TDS withheld and amount remitted for thefinancial year. Further, any errors filed in the previousquarters may be corrected with Form 24Q.

Mandatory information / data required for generatingForm 24Q

a) Tax computation statement for both Active andresigned employee

b) Challan details for the current quarterc) Employee-wise TDS mapping with Challan for the

quarterd) TDS reconciliation for the whole year including fourth

quartere) Return Preparation Utility (RPU) and File Validation

Utility (FVU) (or)f) Any third party software to run the Form 24Q

Procedure for generating Form 24Q

1) Download the RPU 4.2 from https://www.tin-nsdl.com

2) Save it on the desktop and unzip3) Run the setup file. Now, utility is available for

processing data4) Open the .exe file5) Select Form 24Q Regular6) Fill in the Company information in the first sheet7) Fill in the Challan details in the second sheet8) Give the breakup of employee-wise TDS mapped to

Challan in the third sheet (Annexure 1)9) Give the salary information (data as per tax

computation sheet) in the fourth sheet (Annexure 2)10) Save and create text file11) Validate using FVU 4.5 (this is the current version

available on NSDL and if there are revisions to theexisting FVU, then the latest has to be used tovalidate FVU)

12) FVU file will not be generated if there are errors.13) Correct the errors and re-validate for successful

generation

Know Your Tax– Form 24Q

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Nature of errors and mode of rectification whilegenerating FVU

Error in PANFVU verifies the following points while validating PAN -• Length of the PAN should be 10 characters• Format is 5 Alphabets, 4 numbers and 1 Alphabet• Fourth Character cannot be anything other than P, H, C,

J, F, A, T, B, L or GThe fifth character as per PAN structure should be the firstletter of the Assessee‟s surname. However, this is notvalidated by FVU.Arithmetical AccuracyIn the flow of taxable income calculations, if the sum doesnot match, FVU throws an error. This normally happenswhere there is a difference in rounding up/down. The bestway around this is to start from Taxable Income (with ahigher round off) and work back towards Salary aftersection 10.Understated ChallanWhere the deductee details as per Annexure 1 are greaterthan those mentioned in the Challan details sheet, FVUthrows an error. The remedy is to ensure that no excessamount in the deductee details as per Annexure 1.However, FVU does not check for this accuracy inAnnexure II for the whole year – error , if any, is detectedonly after the returns are filed and notice is issued on theemployer for short remittance along with interest andpenalty.Electronic WarningIn this case, FVU is generated with an electronic warningand possible reasons could be only with respect tounmatched Challan details between the Form 24Q and theChallan CSI file downloaded from NSDL. This error can notbe ignored in any case, except for when the Challanupdate is yet to happen in NSDL..Employee name Mis-matchFVU throws an error when there are some specialcharacters found in the employee name – e.g. D‟souza.Errors are also highlighted where there are double spaces– e.g. “Ram Kumar V.K.” is correct while “Ram Kumar V. K“is incorrect.Serial Number mismatchEvery deductee mapped to a Challan carries a serialnumber within the Challan, which has to be in numericalsequence. Any miss-out or jumbled numbers would throwan error in FVU.

Know Your Tax– Form 24Q

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Withdrawal of PF by expats

The Ministry of Labour and Employment, on 5 October 2012, issued a notification thatamends the withdrawal norms for international workers. The notification states that –

a) An international worker from countries that have an active Social SecurityAgreement can withdraw their contributions from the Provident Fund ontermination of their services in India.

b) Withdrawal can be done through their employer in India.c) Eligible service will mean the period of coverage in India under the relevant social

security scheme of the other country.

Before this amendment, international workers were allowed to withdraw only in thefollowing circumstances -

a) On retirement or on attaining 58 years of age whichever is earlier;b) On Permanent or total incapacity for work; orc) On such grounds as specified in Social Security Agreements.

Foreign nationals from a country that has no Social Security Agreement with India arepermitted to withdraw their Provident Fund only on attaining the age of 58 years and nototherwise.

Countries with active social security agreements as on date with India

Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg, France, Denmark, Korea, Netherlands,Hungary, Finland, Sweden, Czech Republic, and Norway.

Withdrawal of PF through employer

Earlier, it was mandatory for the foreign national to hold an Indian Bank account fortransfer of PF accumulations. However, the amendment ensures that the accumulationscan be transferred to the Indian employer, who would then transfer it to the respectiveforeign national‟s account.

Provisions of inoperative accounts are not applicable in case of international workersand they will continue to earn interest till the amount of Provident Fund is finallywithdrawn.

General concerns in employing international workers in India

There are still many points that are not clearly defined by the Provident FundCommission – like wages for international workers, communication of balances to the PFaccount of foreign national after their termination of services in India till the age of 58,proof of identity, etc. It is especially difficult for those foreign nationals whose homecountries do not have any Social Security Agreements with India.

Provident Fund – Withdrawal by Expats

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In Other News – Major Updates

Transport Allowance exemption increased

The Budget had already increased the Transport Allowance limit from Rs.800/- toRs.1600 per month from the Financial year 2015-16. However, many employers havenot considered this for April 2015, since it has still not been approved by both theHouses of Parliament.

Meanwhile, Central Board of Direct Taxes has amended this exemption through theNotification no. 39 dated 13 April 2015, granting exemption up to Rs.1600/- p.m. fornormal category and up to Rs.3200/- per month for physically challenged.

Online payment of ESI contribution made easier

Until recently, ESI contributions could be made through payment gateway in designatedbranches of State Bank of India or over the counter by cheque / DD along with acomputer generated Challan.

Now, with effect from 1 April 2015, ESI contributions can be made through net bankingof the State Bank of India and 58 other banks. The employers will be able to remitcontribution either through net banking or over the counter of SBI Branches. From 1 May2015, only electronic payment will be accepted in ESIC through online net banking of SBIand 58 major banks.

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About Allsec

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Founded in 1998, Allsec Technologies

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Gaining over 15 years of domain

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Our solutions are testimony to the fact

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