No service tax to be levied on NRI remittances: Finance Ministry

New Delhi, July 10

The Finance Ministry today clarified that no service tax would be levied on NRI remittances from overseas.

The clarification by the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), which functions under the Finance Ministry, follows concerns over reports that there was a move to levy 12 per cent tax on money sent back home by Indians abroad under the changed service tax regime from July 1.

The CBEC said in a circular “that the matter has been examined and it is clarified that there is no service tax per se on the amount of foreign currency remitted to India from overseas”. In the negative list regime, “service” excludes transaction in money. As the amount of remittance comprises money, the activity does not comprise a “service” and is not subjected to service tax, the circular clarifies.

It further added that “in case any fee or conversion charges are levied for sending such money, they are also not liable to service tax as the person sending the money and the company conducting the remittance are located outside India. Such services are deemed to be provided outside India and thus not liable to service tax”.

It has been further clarified that even the Indian counterpart bank or financial institution which charges the foreign bank for the services provided at the receiving end, is not liable to service tax as the place of provision of such service is outside India.

The clarification will alleviate concerns of NRIs as India is one of the top recipient of remittances ($64 billion in 2011), according to the World Bank data. Given the dire need for dollar at a time when current account deficit is high and Rupee is under pressure, any move to levy service tax on NRI remittances would have been disastrous.

CMs of Punjab and Kerala, which are among the states receiving the largest remittances from NRIs, had taken up the matter with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

M Rafeeque Ahmed, president, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), said that towards addressing the trade deficit, remittances were the single largest source of unconditional flow of foreign exchange into India, according to estimates by the World Bank. Given the slowdown and declining levels of foreign exchange, service tax could only act as a deterrent to precious incoming foreign exchange, he added.

He said the waiver of service tax on the same would ensure that this stable source of foreign exchange would continue to maintain the delicate balance of payments position of India at this moment of global crisis. 

WHY THE CLARIFICATION  Concerns were being expressed over reports that there was a move to levy 12% tax on money sent back home by Indians abroad under the changed service tax regime from July 1 THE FINAL WORD  The matter has been examined and it is clarified that there is no service tax per se on the amount of foreign currency remitted to India from overseas  As the amount of remittance comprises money, the activity does not comprise a “service” and is not subject to service tax  In case any fee or conversion charges are levied for sending such money, they are also not liable to service tax as the person sending the money and the company conducting the remittance are located outside India

NRI in Canada asked to pay alimony to estranged wife in India

NEW DELHI: A non-resident Indian has been asked by a Delhi court to pay an alimony of Rs 33,000 a month to his estranged wife living here.

Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Ila Rawat ordered Puneet Arora, residing in Canada with his parents and sister, to pay maintenance to his wife from January 2010 when she had moved the court for the alimony.

The sessions court's order came on the woman's plea for modification of a magisterial court order, which had allowed her an alimony of Rs 33,000 a month but had slated the date of its payment from August 5, 2011, the day the trial court had given its ruling.

"The respondent no. 1 (Puneet) is directed to pay Rs 33,000 per month towards maintenance and for rent amount to his wife (the petitioner) from the date of filing the application," said ASJ Rawat, slating the 10th day of every month as the date for payment of the alimony.

In her plea, the woman had said she was married to Puneet on September 15, 2009 with her parent giving sufficient dowry to him as per his family's demand.

She said Puneet left for Canada after a fortnight of his marriage and when she joined him after five months after grant of visa, she was not treated properly and was not given the status of wife.

She said her in-laws and husband threatened, harassed, tortured, taunted and even beat her up despite receiving ample amount of dowry from her parents.

She also alleged that her husband was having an extra marital affair with a divorced woman in Canada and with whom she had seen him in objectionable position.

Ultimately, she was forced to leave Canada on December 7, 2009 and took shelter at her parental home in India without any monetary help from her husband for her maintenance and day to day expenses, she said.

Sikh Seva Foundation’s 1st Annual Food Drive Donates 10,000 Food Items

SURREY – A food drive organised by Sikh Seva Foundation with the support of local Sikh Community and Sikh Organisations for the Month of April donated over 10,000 food items weighing 8126 Pounds to BC Food Banks on Monday May 7.

“We would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to the community for their generous donations, the response was overwhelming. The community united to donate over 8100 pounds of food. We wantto thank everyone for taking part in 1st Annual Seva Community Food Drive, organized by the Sikh Seva Foundation in association with Food Banks BC. Your selfless service to the community is appreciated,” the organization said in a press release.

The month long food drive was held in April and food items were dropped off at Sikh Gurdwaras and schools in the Lower Mainland.

“We feel so honoured to see the community taking part in such a fundamental project. Food is energy, food is love and food gives hope to those who face challenges in providing nourishment to their families, seniors and others who cannot afford the basics. It is great to see the community stepping up their efforts this year to meet these challenges, to help others and to show how much they care about one another,” said one organizer.

“I feel this is so important. Every day I see people in need and I want to help. This is something I can do,” explains a youth volunteer. “Collecting food for others is just my small way of supporting the community. Everyone should help if they are able to. Whatever you donate, will be helpful.”

The Sikh Seva Foundation is a community driven initiative focusing on volunteering today to help give hope for tomorrow. Their goal is not to have any one person lead or direct; it is to have the entire community work to improve conditions for everyone. The purpose of Sikh Seva Foundation is to be a volunteer bank resource for a wide range of charities throughout the Lower Mainland.

The Foundation’s activities are inspired by the principles of Sikhism, including:

• Equality and fraternity of all human beings

• Selfless service to others, especially any one who is impoverished, disadvantaged or vulnerable

• Diligent and honest work

• Sharing with the community the fruits of one’s labour

• Increasing understanding and acceptance among all human beings

For more information email at info@sikhsevafoundation.com or visit their website www.sikhsevafoundation.com

Punjab seeks better coordination with Canada

Chandigarh - Punjab Revenue and NRI Affairs Minister Bikram Singh Majithia on Friday sought better coordination with Canada to redress the grievances and disputes pertaining to Non Resident Indians. Majithia sought this cooperation from Canada when Consul General of Canada, Scot Slessor called on him at his residence.Majithia said that constant and better coordination between Punjab Government and Canadian Government would also create new job avenues for Punjabi youth besides strengthening the ties of both countries in agriculture, business, industrial and skill management and skill training sectors. He also emphasised on the need to initiate joint ventures between young entrepreneurs of both the countries.
He also informed that in view of exchanging agriculture techniques the Punjab and Alberta State of Canada would soon sign an MoU of Agriculture Cooperation. Majithia said that Punjab can play a major role to establish stronger bilateral relations between India and Canada.
He said that Canada was facing a shortage of skilled workers and this problem can be solved by Punjab by providing skilled workers to Canada. He said that Canada should coordinate with Punjab Government to take forward the concept of Twin City for the training of skilled workers.
Slessor invited the delegation of Punjab Government’s officials from departments like Agriculture, Education and Industry to identify the job opportunities for punjabi youth according to requirement of Canadian Government.
He said that the farmers of Punjab can also replicate the modern techniques of farming in Canada here to make farming sector more earning through scientific and environment friendly methods. He also exhorted the Punjabi youths for their hard work and enterprising spirit for further acceleration Canada’s development.

New immigration policy of Canada draws flak

Chandigarh, April 29
More than one lakh Punjabis are likely to be affected by a controversial decision of the Canadian government to close the files of candidates who had applied for immigration under the federal skilled workers (FSW) category before February 28, 2008.
A protest will be launched against the move in Chandigarh on April 30.
The Conservative government in Canada has decided to create, what it terms, a fast and flexible immigration system and which will eliminate backlog in the federal economic immigration programme. The new policy aims at recruiting skilled labour that addresses the country’s immediate labour market needs.
The proposal, which was put in the Canadian budget on March 29, will be implemented soon. The government plans to refund fees and return applications of all those who applied before February 28, 2008.
The Conservative government feels that it should not be bogged down with the backlog created by the erstwhile Labour government. The move will affect three lakh people worldwide, most of whom are Indian and Chinese. Thousands of Punjabis have been waiting for immigration for the past eight years and will now stand no chance of immigration under the new format, which will fast-track immigration of 29 categories of skilled workers.
Advocate Rakesh Garg, who is also an applicant for permanent immigration and heads the Pre-2008 Canadian Back-loggers Association, said candidates from across the state would hold a rally in Chandigarh on April 30.
Garg said the association would also take up the matter with Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and urge him to seek Prime Minister’s intervention in the matter as more than one lakh Punjabis would be affected by the move. Other aggrieved applicants, including Lajwant Bains and Jagminder Singh, claimed the decision was a repetition of the Komagata Maru incident and against the Continuous Journey Act, 2008, as it “goes against the first come, first serve principle. They said family reunification cases would also be delayed under the new policy.
The immigration hopefuls have established a prospective Canadian immigrations Facebook page. Garg said he was also in coordination with prospective immigrants from China, Pakistan and Sri Lanka to launch a worldwide protest against the move.

Mr. B.S.Ghuman, President of the NRI Association of Canada and NRI Law Group, a Canada based law group, assured them of the full support, of any kind, to fight for their cause and press the Canadian government to give a second thought to it's decision.

Facebook protest against Canada visa backlog policy

A proposed policy to reduce the Canada visa backlog by returning all applications made before 2008 has sparked outrage among some applicants who have taken to Facebook to make their protest known.

Canadian visa applicants who have had their applications returned have taken to Facebook to promote their cause.

As part of its Budget last month, the Canadian government announced that it would be returning all Canada visa applications to the Federal Skilled Workers (FSW) programme made before 2008 in an effort to streamline the application system and cut the backlog of applications down to a manageable amount.
The announcement was part of the Canadian immigration reform promised by the immigration minister, Jason Kenney, whose many promises and statements regarding the issue have frequently proved controversial.
However, it would seem as Mr Kenney may have gone even further this time as unhappy applicants who have seen their applications sit in a bureaucratic limbo for the past four or five years only to have them cancelled have taken to the Internet to protest the cause.
The page, 'Prospective Canadian Immigrants', has over 250 members and hopes to bring together affected applicants in order to raise awareness of the situation and bring the issue to Mr Kenney's attention.
Many of the page's members are from Ludhiana in the Indian state of Punjab which has a long history of citizens moving to Canada.
"We are well aware of the reach of the Internet and also that it has the ability to reach the deaf ears of the Canadian government. This is the reason a page has been created on Facebook and a large number of people are joining us every day, not only from Punjab but from almost all Asian countries," said Rakesh Kumar Garg, one of the page's members.
The reform of the Canadian immigration system has focussed on prioritising those applicants who have valuable skills needed in the Canadian labour market and has frequently used slogans promoting the need for young, skilled migrants; a point the Facebook page is using to promote their cause.
"It seems as we are being punished for trusting Canada blindly," wrote Ranbir Batish, one of the page's members. "Since we planned to settle in Canada our lives have come to a standstill today."
"The honourable minister wants the youth to come, but he forgot that we were also young when we had applied and if our cases are delayed it is not our fault."

Dangerous - Do not drink Coka-Cola and eat MENTOS together...!!! Seeing is believing ?don't you think ?!!! Last week a little boy died in Brazil after eating MENTOS and drinking Coka-Cola together. One year before the same accident happened with another boy in Brazil .. Please check the experiment that has been done by mixing Coka-Cola (or Coka-Cola light are the same) with MENTOS........ So be careful !!

 
 
 

Welcoming highly educated immigrants- a good economic policy

 

Edmonton - Allowing immigrants with good qualification is a good strategy for the growth of a nation’s economy and Quebec government needs to follow this.

This is keeping in view the fact that just like any other advanced economy, Quebec is facing the challenges of demographic declines leading to acute shortage of required workforce.

The scenario is going to worsen as the population of this Canadian province reaches old age.

Need for boosting Quebec immigration--Several business groups in Quebec say rather than cutting down annual immigration intake in Quebec, focus should be on allowing more immigrants into this Canadian province.

The provincial government must chalk out ways to increase immigration levels in Quebec to deal with the problem of scarcity of qualified and skilled workers here. It may be worth considerable that government of Quebec intends to cut immigration levels by around eight percent by 2015 from the current immigration levels.

And this has naturally invoked serious concerns from several business groups of Quebec. Hence, they have urged Quebec government to work towards improving the scene in the economy by lifting the limits on new immigrant arrivals in Quebec.

The current proportion of immigration in Quebec is only 19 percent of the total Canada immigration although Quebec has 23 percent of nation’s population, as per figures for the year 2010.

Quebec witnessed arrival of 11.6 percent of total temporary foreign workers arriving in Canada last year while Quebec accounted for 15 percent of total foreigners coming to Canada for studying here.

Quebec must improve job prospects for immigrants—Currently, the employment scene for new arrivals in Quebec is not very encouraging. And this is due to two factors, namely, delay in recognition of foreign credentials and poor work experience.

And the onus lies on not just the provincial government but also on Quebec employers for enabling new immigrants get integrated successfully into their new workplace easily.

President of Conseil du patronat, Yves Thomas feels need of the hour is to attract immigrant investors and skilled immigrant workers in Quebec.

Moreover, the province should work towards fast recognition of foreign credentials of immigrants to help them get jobs in accordance with their acquired qualifications, skills and work experience.

Government must reconsider its plans to cut its annual immigration rate and focus on increasing immigration levels at least for the next decade or so. Only then can Quebec cope up with exit of ageing baby boomers from the workforce.

Over thousand Gurdwaras around the world celebrate 2nd Sikh Environment Day

Today is the anniversary of Guru Har Raibecoming the seventh Guru of the Sikhs (this type of anniversary is called a Gurpurab)  in 1644.  Among the aspects of his legacy that Sikhs remember today was this Guru’s love for the natural world.

19th century painting of Guru Har Rai

Washington : As many as 1007 Sikh institutions and gurdwaras around the world celebrated March 14, the day nature and animal lover Guru Har Rai became the seventh Sikh Guru in 1644, as Sikh Environment Day.

EcoSikh, a Washington based Sikh organization, which had initiated the celebrations last year had set the goal of enrolling more than 700 Sikh institutions and gurdwaras to celebrate the day this year as compared to 450 last year.

This year it had also included Sikh run schools and Sikh-owned businesses to join in this endeavour.

Dr. Rajwant Singh, president of EcoSikh said: "It is amazing to see so much enthusiasm among Sikh masses and we believe that is perhaps the largest direct action by the Sikhs for the environment ever in the history.

"Guru Har Rai's life has inspired so many individuals to lead efforts at the local levels in India and all across the globe to take meaningful actions dedicated to this day."

Bandana Kaur, New York based programme director of EcoSikh in North America, said: "Many Gurdwaras are engaging in the local environmental issues in North America in their own localities and many are becoming eco-friendly in their operations."

Scores of young people are excited about this effort since it gives them the opportunity to relate to their faith in a unique way. South Hall based largest gurdwara in Europe has organized a major green drive on this day."

Sri Akal Takhat Sahib and Takhat Hazur Sahib in Nanded, Maharasthra, and Sikhs in several countries including USA, Australia, Canada, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Argentina, Nigeria, Kenya and UK joined in the effort to mark the Sikh Environment Day as a tribute to Guru Har Rai, EcoSikh said.