Chheda Consultancy Services

06/01/2020

The Government has notified ITR 1 and 4 for AY 2020-2021!!
Passport details mandatory.
Cash deposits in current account exceeding ₹1 core to be given.
Travel to foreign countries expenses exceeding ₹2 Lacs to be given.
Electricity total expenses exceeding ₹1 Lac to be given.
Cash and Bank transactions breakup in presumptive tax to be given.

06/01/2020

Bhavik Chheda conducting ESIC Benefits awareness session for workers.

06/01/2020

Monthly Wages under Employee's Compensation Act as per Section 4 is Revised to ₹ 15,000/- from 3-1-2020

12/12/2019

New order passed by ESIC Delhi is a boon for newly appointed employees

12/12/2019

Industrial relations code bill to come up in LS today. The bill, however, may be seen as diluting the bargaining power of worker unions.

Packed with proposals aimed to increase the ease of doing business

The labour code bill includes provisions that allow firms to hire employees on a fixed-term contract

Long-pending reforms on the labour front are set to roll with the Lok Sabha on Wednesday taking up the Industrial Relations Code (IRC) Bill, packed with proposals aimed to increase the ease of doing business.

Provisions of the bill promoting fixed-term employment, smoothening the retrenchment process, and discouraging strikes are expected to be welcomed by the business community, while displeasing worker unions who may see an erosion of their bargaining power.

The move follows recent government initiatives to boost investment, including a sharp cut in corporate taxes, relaxation of foreign investor rules, and a push for privatization. A comprehensive reforms push may help revive a slowing economy and ultimately boost employment generation.

The bill includes fixed-term employment as a category of employment in classification of workers, a provision that workers and unions view as casualization of the workforce. However, it has been a long pending demand of employers to manage elasticity of demand at the shop floor without hiring permanent employees.

The definition of a strike is being amended to include ‘mass casual leave’ in case of a sudden protest and makes it mandatory for a notice of 14 days for strikes and lockouts in any establishment.

To help employers check constant unionism, the bill introduces a feature of ‘recognition of negotiating union’ under which a trade union will be recognized as sole ‘negotiating union’ if it has the support of 75% or more of the workers on the rolls of an establishment, according to details shared with Mint. As several trade unions are active in companies, it will be tough for any one group to manage 75% support, hence taking away their negotiating rights. In such a case, a negotiating council will be constituted for negotiation, says the bill.

IRC is one of the four labour codes that the Center is pushing through to reform India’s archaic labour laws and amalgamate 44 central laws into four broad legislation. The bill merges the Trade Unions Act, 1926, the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 and the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.

According to the bill, terminating a worker at the end of the fixed term would not be retrenchment, said a government official who did not wish to be named. “In view of the present globalized economy, fluctuation in quantum of production of goods and services (depending upon demand and supply), necessitates employment of additional workers for a limited period of time. In view of this, the proposed amendments on the one hand make it easier for the employer to engage/disengage workers based on requirement. On the other hand, it is also being ensured that the retrenched worker is provided an opportunity to acquire new skills through a re-skilling fund to enhance his employ ability to facilitate finding new employment," the official said.

The Indian economy grew at 5% in the June quarter, a six-year low, while the country’s factory output shrank for the second straight month at 4.3% in September, recording its worst show since the present series was launched in April 2012.

“The ease of compliance of labour laws will promote the setting up of more enterprises, thus catalyzing the creation of employment opportunities in the country," said another official familiar with the development, requesting anonymity.

The bill, however, underlines that fixed-term employees will get all statutory benefits on a par with the regular employees who are doing work of the same or similar nature.

12/12/2019

NPS VS EPF: Which one should you go for your retirement?

Not investing in the right instrument can mean you are losing out on the potential returns of your investment. For instance, while EPFO invests predominantly in debt instruments, investing in NPS promises higher returns over the long term.

The choice between NPS and EPF depends on the aspirations and risk-taking abilities of an individual.

The Employee Provident Fund (EPF) is a retirement-oriented investment with tax-saving benefits. The Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) is currently offering an interest rate of 8.65 per cent for the financial year 2018-2019 on EPF.

The National Pension System (NPS) is also considered as one of the best investment tools for retirement. NPS offers three options of investment to its investors: equity, corporate debt, and government bonds. Comparatively, investing in NPS can fetch higher returns as it allows its investors to have higher exposure to equities.

However, choosing one investment tool can be confusing. Not investing in the right instrument can mean you are losing out on the potential returns of your investment. For instance, while EPFO invests predominantly in debt instruments, investing in NPS promises higher returns over the long term.

Find out how they differ from one another:
Investing in EPF is not mandatory for employees earning more than Rs. 15,000 per month, while those earning below Rs. 15,000 have to mandatory contribute towards it. In the case of NPS, investing in it is totally voluntary.

In the case of EPF, an employee has to make a minimum contribution of 12 per cent of his/her salary per month, which can be increased voluntarily. The minimum contribution for NPS is Rs. 500 in Tier I and Rs. 1000 in Tier II account, and there is no maximum limit set.

Employees along with the employers both contribute 12 per cent of the employee’s basic wages towards EPS.
NPS, on the other hand, is a voluntary contribution scheme, and investors can open an NPS account on their own.

In the case of EPF, the full corpus can be withdrawn once the investor reaches 58 years of age. In the case of NPS, once the subscribers reach the age of 60, he/she can withdraw a lump sum of up to 60 per cent of their corpus.
However, it is compulsory to invest the rest of the 40 per cent balance, in an annuity plan. This is one of the biggest drawbacks of NPS.

Partial withdrawals under EPF are allowed under certain circumstances like education, house construction, medical issues, etc. up to a particular limit.
In the case of NPS, partial withdrawals can be made up to 25 per cent of the subscriber’s savings, but only after the 10th year of subscription.

EPF falls under the EEE category. Hence, it is tax-free from the accrued interest and the accumulation on withdrawal for investments made up to Rs. 1.50 lakh under Section 80C. Investments in NPS enjoy full tax-exemption up to the limit of Rs. 1.5 lakh under section 80C and an additional Rs. 50,000 under Sec 80CCD (1B). Further, employees can claim deduction under section 80CCD (2), up to 10 per cent of the basic salary plus dearness allowances, on the employer’s contribution made towards employees’ NPS account.

What should you do?
The choice between NPS and EPF depends on the aspirations and risk-taking abilities of an individual. Rachit Chawla Founder and CEO Finway says, “Between NPS and EPF, the latter is considered quite safe as pension in EPF is independent of market conditions and the investor can easily forecast about his future returns. Of course, the long-term returns of NPS are mostly higher due to more exposure to equities, but the 40 per cent of the accumulation that needs to be invested in annuity or pension product after maturity of the investment is a major drawback.”

For instance, an investor of 28 years, currently earning Rs. 75,000 and spending Rs. 35,000 per month, aims for Rs. 50,000 per month as pension post-retirement. If chooses NPS, his monthly contribution towards his goal will be comparatively less, but tax benefits will be more. On the other hand, EPF comes with almost zero risk involvement, primarily as a debt instrument, with an upper capping of 15 per cent on equity allocation.
Experts suggest a combination of both would be the ideal option.
Chawla of Finway says, “If there is EPF policy in an investor’s company where he has to contribute 12 per cent of his salary as a part of EPF, he can invest some part of his salary in NPS as per his choice. EPF and NPS both serve as complimentary and two varying modes of investment returns and the best course is to opt for both.”

12/12/2019

22/10/2019

Court Rules in the Favor and Awards Compensation to the 'TERMINATED WOMEN EMPLOYEE ON MATERNITY LEAVE.'

20/01/2018

AN INTERACTIVE WORKSHOP ON ”EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION BENEFIT MANAGEMENT (TAX) - RULES AND REMUNERATION PLANNING”

An Interactive Workshop to be conducted by us on employee compensation benefit management. This will be held at Thane on 17th Feb 2018. We believe that the participants who attend this seminar will get very good knowledge of tax and its implication on setting up of salary structure in your organization. Moreover all the latest amendments as provided in the up coming Union Budget will be covered in this workshop.