Archives for August 2019

GSTR 9 is an annual return to be filed yearly by taxpayers registered under the Goods and Services Tax.

NEW DELHI: The finance ministry on Monday said the last date for filing annual GST returns has been extended by three months to November 30 as taxpayers were facing technical problems in furnishing returns.

Earlier, GST taxpayers were to file required returns by August 31.

“It is hereby informed that the last date for furnishing of annual return in the Form GSTR-9 / Form GSTR-9A and reconciliation statement in the Form GSTR-9C for the financial year 2017-18 is extended from August 31, 2019 to November 30, 2019,” the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) said in a statement.

GSTR 9 is an annual return to be filed yearly by taxpayers registered under the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

It consists of details regarding the outward and inward supplies made or received under different tax heads.

While extending the date, the CBIC said “certain technical problems are being faced” by the taxpayers as a result annual return for the period July 1, 2017 to March 31, 2018 could not be furnished by persons registered under GST.

GSTR-9C is filed by those whose annual turnover exceeds Rs 2 crore.

It is a statement of reconciliation between GSTR-9 and the audited annual financial statement, while GSTR-9A is the annual return to be filed those who have opted for the Composition Scheme under GST.

The maximum number of 26 such cases have been registered in Meerut followed by Saharanpur and Shamli where 17 and 10 FIRs have been lodged respectively.

LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh is witnessing a spurt in triple talaq cases, with 216 FIRs filed by Muslim women since the enactment of a law which makes the practice of instant divorce a punishable offence.

The maximum number of 26 such cases have been registered in Meerut followed by Saharanpur and Shamli where 17 and 10 FIRs have been lodged respectively, a senior police official told PTI on Tuesday.

These three places in western Uttar Pradesh have a sizeable Muslim population.

“In UP, women given triple talaq are coming out in large numbers to register FIRs against their husbands. Within three weeks (till August 21) of implementation of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019, as many as 216 FIRs have been filed in the state so far,” he said.

In eastern Uttar Pradesh, the highest number of 10 FIRs were registered in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency – Varanasi.

The main causes of triple talaq are dowry, property dispute and domestic violence as per the FIRs lodged.

However, except in two-three cases, no arrest has so far been made in the over 200 cases lodged.

In a bid to ensure effective implementation of the Act, the Uttar Pradesh Police is contemplating to arrest the accused.

“To ensure that the Act is followed in letter and spirit and justice is given to Muslim women, we are examining as to why we should not arrest those involved in giving triple talaq. We will be doing that in some districts,” Director General of Police OP Singh told PTI.

He said very soon the police will also be going for “impact analysis” to ensure justice to Muslim women.

“Very soon, we will be calling a few sample cases to assess the impact to ensure justice to the victim women,” he said.

Some triple talaqs have been given over the phone, through SMS or directly to women.

In a case in Lucknow, a man allegedly gave triple talaq to his wife right inside civil court premises in the presence of her advocate after she refused to accept a chewing gum from him, police said.

30-year-old Simmi of Amrai village was divorced by her husband Syed Rashid where she had gone for the hearing of a case of dowry harassment she had lodged earlier against her in-laws.

The woman was talking to her advocate when her husband offered her a chewing gum which she refused, throwing Rashid into a fit of rage so much so that he divorced his wife, uttering talaq three times then and there itself.

In Banda, a woman was given triple talaq by her husband over the phone, while in Barabanki a woman was given triple talaq through SMS.

In another case, a man divorced his wife allegedly to escape from the responsibility of providing treatment to their physically challenged daughter.

In a separate case, a woman alleged that her husband had ended their two-year-old marriage by pronouncing triple talaq over the phone as she had a dark complexion.

In yet another case, a man allegedly divorced his wife in full public view in her village market in Unnao district using the outlawed custom and mocking at the new law that declares the oral diktat a penal offence.

The triple talaq law came into effect retrospectively from September 19, 2018, after President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the legislation that makes giving instant oral triple talaq or talalq-e-biddat a criminal offence with provisions of jail term up to three years.

The new law makes void and illegal talaq-e-biddat or any other similar form of talaq having the effect of instantaneous and irrevocable divorce pronounced by a Muslim husband.

It also makes it illegal to pronounce talaq three times in spoken, written or through SMS or WhatsApp or any other electronic chat in one sitting.

The law says any Muslim husband who pronounces the illegal form of talaq upon his wife shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, and shall also be liable to fine.

The aggrieved woman is entitled to demand maintenance from her husband for herself and her dependent children under the Act.

The woman said that her husband is lodged in jail since 2014 in connection with a murder case.

AMROHA (Uttar Pradesh): A woman from Amroha district claimed she was given triple talaq by her jailed husband because she failed to provide him with a new dress on the day of Bakrid.

“My husband, who is currently in jail, had asked me to get him a set of kurta-pyjama on the occasion of Bakrid. I failed to get the dress stitched as I could not arrange the money, which led to a quarrel between the two of us when I went to meet him and he gave me triple talaq. I then sent two of my family members to make him see reason but he gave me triple talaq in front of them too,” Murshida, the victim, said here on Monday.

The woman added that her husband is lodged in jail since 2014 in connection with a murder case.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Vipin Tada said Murshida’s complaint has been registered and action is being taken against the accused.

“A woman lodged a complaint in the Gajrola police station here that she was given triple talaq by her husband, who is lodged in jail, during the meeting time with family members. The man again gave her triple talaq in front of her family members who had gone there to get the matter resolved,” Tada told ANI.

“A case under the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act has been registered and the strict action is being taken. This is probably the eighth case from the district after the triple talaq law came into force,” he added.

The woman is also planning to write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to apprise him about the issue and seek justice.

On August 1, President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage), Bill, 2019, which criminalises instant talaq and provides for a jail term of three years for the husband. 

The Prime Minister could not attend the funeral of the former finance minister as he was away from the country on a three-nation visit to France-UAE-Bahrain.

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the family members of former Union minister Arun Jaitley at his residence here on Tuesday and offered floral tributes to a portrait of the departed leader.

Jaitley (66) passed away at the All Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here on Saturday.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived at Jaitley’s residence earlier and received the prime minister along with Rohan Jaitley, the former Union finance minister’s son.

Other family members were also present when Modi walked in and spoke to Jaitley’s wife and children.

The prime minister spent about 20-25 minutes at Jaitley’s residence.

Modi was on a three-nation tour when the senior leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) passed away.

He had spoken with Jaitley’s wife Sangeeta and son Rohan on Saturday.

Addressing a gathering in Bahrain, the prime minister had said: “I cannot imagine that I am here in Bahrain, while my dear friend Arun Jaitley is no more. Some days ago, we lost our former external affairs minister behen Sushma (Swaraj) Ji. Today, my dear friend Arun went away.”

Modi returned to India early Tuesday morning.

Rohan immersed his father’s ashes in the Ganga in Haridwar on Monday.

According to official data, 8,189 Indians are lodged in various prisons in foreign countries, with Saudi Arabia having the highest number at 1,811 followed by the UAE at 1,392.

MANAMA: In a humanitarian gesture, the Bahrain government on Sunday pardoned 250 Indians serving sentences in the Gulf nation during the maiden visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the oil-rich country.

The prime minister expressed his gratitude to the Bahrain leadership for the Royal pardon.

According to official data, 8,189 Indians are lodged in various prisons in foreign countries, with Saudi Arabia having the highest number at 1,811 followed by the UAE at 1,392.

It was not clear how many Indians are lodged in jails in the Gulf kingdom.

“In a kind and humanitarian gesture, the Government of Bahrain has pardoned 250 Indians serving sentences in Bahrain,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) tweeted.

The prime minister has specially thanked the King of Bahrain and the entire Royal Family for their kindness and the compassionate decision, it added.

The court also asked Chidambaram to move the trial court for regular bail, saying since he has been arrested, his appeal challenging Delhi High Court order has become infructuous.

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed plea of former Union Minister P Chidambaram seeking anticipatory bail in the INX Media case, saying that the senior Congress leader has been already arrested and the case has become infructuous.

Hearing on the other two petitions of the former Union Minister going on at the apex court.

The court also asked Chidambaram to move the trial court for regular bail, saying since he has been arrested, his appeal challenging Delhi High Court order denying anticipatory bail has become infructuous.

The senior Congress leader’s counsel Kapil Sibal told the apex court,” If the arrest had taken place and I had filed it later, the petition against Delhi High Court would be infructuous. I have a right under law to be heard.”

Sibal said this after Justice Banumathi said CBI matter became infructuous as Chidambaram had already been arrested in the INX Media Case.

The bench in return asked Sibal whether his petition for anticipatory bail had not become infructuous as he has been arrested now.

“We can’t convert your petition against rejection of anticipatory bail into a petition for regular bail,” said Justice Bhanumathi.

Sibal hit back by saying, “we have not being heard and the plea was listed for Friday in SC and then I was arrested by CBI. We have even challenged  the trial court’s remand order.”

Senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi also argued that CBI should not have acted like this when the matter was pending in SC.

Earlier on Monday, to the surprise of senior Congress leader’s legal team, the third petition which challenges the trial court order which granted CBI custody till Monday was not listed in the apex court.

On this, senior advocate Kapil Sibal approached the bench headed by Justice R Banumathi to inform her about the non-listing of the matter.

The Judge responded that she is aware of the things and has sent the file to Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi for necessary approvals and the matter will be listed accordingly.

“The registry has some difficulty and we have to take orders from the Chief Justice,” the bench told Sibal.

The hearing on this case assumes significance as Chidambaram’s custody ends today and in case his petition doesn’t get listed then CBI will seek further remand of the former Finance Minister.

The special judge in the CBI court will also be bound by the Supreme Court’s orders passed in these cases and will have hence await the outcome of the proceedings there.

On Friday, the apex court had granted protection from arrest till Monday to Chidambaram in the money-laundering case lodged by the Enforcement Directorate.

The court has sought replies from ED on Chidambaram’s plea and directed that all the three matters should be listed on Monday.

Chidambaram has contended that it is a violation of his fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution, that his petition challenging the high court order was not heard by the apex court on July 20 and 21 and he was arrested on the August 21 night.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for ED, had said that lot of “hue and cry” and “political vendetta” is alleged by the petitioner (Chidambaram) and his party colleagues but “I am saying with a great sense of responsibility that this is a case of money laundering of a monumental magnitude”.

“CBI has recorded the statement of Indrani Mukherjea, which will be tested in the trial, that she and her husband Peter had gone to Chidambaram for FIPB approval and he (Chidambaram) had asked them to take care of his son,” Mehta had argued.

The CBI had registered an FIR on May 15, 2017, alleging irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board clearances granted to the INX Media group for receiving overseas funds of Rs 305 crore in 2007 during Chidambaram’s tenure as finance minister.

Thereafter, the ED lodged a money-laundering case in 2017.

Chidambaram was arrested on August 21 night from his Jor Bagh residence by the CBI in the corruption case and was produced before a trial court on August 22, which remanded him to four-day CBI custody till August 26.