Press Information Bureau 
Government of India
Ministry of Finance

10 DEC 2018

Streamlining of National Pension System (NPS)

Decision

The Union Cabinet in its Meeting on 6^th December, 2018 has approved the following proposal for streamlining the National Pension System (NPS).

· Enhancement of the mandatory contribution by the Central Government for its employees covered under NPS Tier-I from the existing 10% to 14%.

· Providing freedom of choice for selection of Pension Funds and pattern of investment to central government employees.

· Payment of compensation for non-deposit or delayed deposit of NPS contributions during 2004-2012.

· Tax exemption limit for lump sum withdrawal on exit has been enhanced to 60%. With this, the entire withdrawal will now be exempt from income tax. (At present, 40% of the total accumulated corpus utilized for purchase of annuity is already tax exempted. Out of 60% of the accumulated corpus withdrawn by the NPS subscriber at the time of retirement, 40% is tax exempt and balance 20% is taxable.)

· Contribution by the Government employees under Tier-II of NPS will now be covered under Section 80C for deduction up to Rs. 1.50 lakh for the purpose of income tax at par with the other schemes such as General Provident Fund, Contributory Provident Fund, Employees Provident Fund and Public Provident Fund provided that there is a lock-in period of 3 years.

Background

The new entrants to the central government service on or after 01.01.2004 are covered under the National Pension System (NPS). The Seventh Pay Commission (7^th CPC), during its deliberations, examined certain concerns regarding NPS and made recommendations in the year 2015. The 7^th CPC recommended for setting up of a Committee of Secretaries in this regard. Accordingly, a Committee of Secretaries was constituted by the Government to suggest measures for streamlining the implementation of NPS in the year 2016. The Committee submitted its report in the year 2018. Accordingly, based on the recommendations of the Committee, draft Cabinet Note was placed before the Cabinet for its approval.

Implementation strategy and targets

The proposed changes to NPS would be made applicable immediately once time critical decisions are taken in consultation with the other concerned Ministries / Departments.

Major impact

· Increase in the eventual accumulated corpus of all central government employees covered under NPS.

· Greater pension payouts after retirement without any additional burden on the employee.

· Freedom of choice for selection of Pension Funds and investment pattern to central government employees.

· Benefit to approximately 18 lakh central government employees covered under NPS.

· Augmenting old-age security in a time of rising life expectancy.

· By making NPS more attractive, government will be facilitated in attracting and retaining the best talent.

Expenditure involved

The impact on the exchequer on this account is estimated to be to the tune of around Rs. 2840 crores for the financial year 2019-20, and will be in the nature of a recurring expenditure. The financial implications on account of provisions regarding payment of compensation for non-deposit or delayed deposit of NPS contributions during 2004-2012, would be in addition to the amount indicated above.

No. of beneficiaries

Approximately 18 lakh central government employees covered under NPS would be benefitted from the streamlining of the National Pension System.

States/districts covered

Pan India.

Details and progress of scheme if already running

Presently, the new entrants to the central government service on or after 01.01.2004 are covered under the NPS. NPS is being implemented and regulated by Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority in the country.

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DSM/RM/KA

 

Government of India

Ministry of Finance

Department of Revenue

Central Board of Direct Taxes

                                                                                   New Delhi, 10th December, 2018

PRESS RELEASE

Direct Tax Collections for F.Y. 2018-19 up to November, 2018

The provisional figures of Direct Tax collections up to November, 2018 show that gross collections are at Rs. 6.75 lakh crore which is 15.7% higher than the gross collections for the corresponding period of last year.

Refunds amounting to Rs.1.23 lakh crore have been issued during April, 2018 to November, 2018, which is 20.8% higher than refunds issued during the same period in the preceding year. Net collections (after adjusting for refunds) have increased by 14.7% to Rs. 5.51 lakh crore during April - November, 2018. The net Direct Tax collections represent 48% of the total Budget Estimates of Direct Taxes for F.Y. 2018-19 (Rs. 11.50 lakh crore).

So far as the growth rate for Corporate Income Tax (CIT) and Personal Income Tax (PIT) is concerned, the growth rate of gross collections for CIT is 17.7% while that for PIT (including STT) is 18.3%. After adjustment of refunds, the net growth in CIT collections is 18.4% and that in PIT collections is 16.0%. It is pertinent to mention that collections of the corresponding period of F.Y. 2017-18 also included extraordinary collections under the Income Declaration Scheme (IDS), 2016 amounting to Rs.10,833 crore (Third and last instalment of IDS), which do not form part of the current year’s collections.

 (Surabhi Ahluwalia)

         Commissioner of Income Tax

(Media & Technical Policy)

Official Spokesperson, CBDT.

 

Ministry of Finance

Cabinet approves revised Model MoU between India and foreign

Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) for exchange of information

Dated: 06 DEC 2018

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval to the revised Model Memorandum of Understanding between the Financial Intelligence Unit(FIU) – India (FIU-Ind) with its counterpart foreign Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) for exchange of information. The revised Model MoU was drafted based on Egmont Group Secretariat revised Model MoU 2014.

 Background

The core functions of FIU-IND in relation to foreign FIUs include screening and processing requests from foreign Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs), disseminating information to foreign FIUs, establishing and maintaining relationship with foreign FIUs, and facilitating, administering and negotiating MoUs with foreign FIUs. Most of the foreign FIUs require an MoU to be signed for sharing of information with them.

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AKT/SH

(Release ID: 1554968)

 

Ministry of Finance

Dr. Ajay Bhushan Pandey takes over as Revenue Secretary

Dated: 30 NOV 2018

Dr. Ajay Bhushan Pandey (IAS: MH 1984) took over as the Union Revenue Secretary upon superannuation of Dr Hasmukh Adhia here today. Outgoing Finance Secretary & Revenue Secretary, Dr Hasmukh Adhia welcomed Dr Pandey in his office. A Maharashtra cadre officer, Dr. Pandey will continue to head the Unique Identification authority of India (UIDAI) as its CEO and will also hold his position as the Chairman of GSTN.

An Indian Administrative Service officer with over 34 years of experience in State and Central Governments, he had a remarkable stint of more than 8 years in UIDAI where he played a key role in establishing and steering Aadhaar across the country and drafting the historic Aadhaar legislation for providing statutory basis to Aadhaar. He also successfully explained Aadhaar and its benefits and the underlying technology to the 5-judge Constitution bench in the Supreme Court through his two-day long power point presentation in the open court room which helped the Government in successfully defending the Aadhaar case against 37 petitions. He was also instrumental in scaling up Aadhaar in delivery of government subsidies and benefits which led to savings of more than Rs 90,000 Crore during the last three years by eliminating ghosts and duplicates and ensuring that the benefits reach the real and deserving beneficiaries. It is under his steering that Aadhaar has earned worldwide acclaim.

Prior to joining UIDAI in 2010, he played an important role in reforming power distribution system as Managing Director of Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company where he brought down transmission and distribution losses remarkably and helped the state in tiding over massive power shortage. Also, during his tenure as Principal Secretary, Information Technology in Maharashtra, he contributed significantly in driving many key e-Governance projects. Early in his career, he had also headed Enforcement Division of Maharashtra Sales Tax department.

An Electrical Engineering graduate from IIT Kanpur, he joined the University of Minnesota in 1998 to obtain his MS and PhD in Computer Science and was later awarded Distinguished Leadership Award for Internationals by the University of Minnesota for his outstanding leadership accomplishments in his professional career.

Later speaking to the media, Dr. Pandey said that his priorities among others would be to help government improve Tax–GDP ratio, enhance tax compliance through integration of technology, stabilize the implementation of GST, bring transparency and simplification of laws and procedures for better tax administration and ease of business. He would welcome any suggestions from public regarding direct and indirect tax reforms as this would help to get feedback and pave the way for providing better incentives and services to the tax payers.

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DSM/RM

(Release ID: 1554326)

 

Click here to read and download ITAT order copy reported in [TS-8548-ITAT-2018(Cochin)-O]