Pay your advance tax: Letters to The EDITOR

Pay your advance tax

Tax payers have been foxed by the financial terms. Financial Year (FY) or Fiscal Year is the year for income earned and Assessment Year (AY) is for income assessed thereby taxes are paid and Income Tax Return (ITR) filed. Advance Tax is paid before the end of the FY in four deadlines: June 15 (25%), September 15 (50%), December 15 (75%) and March 15 (100%). 15th March is the last day for payable of Advance Tax for the FY 2018-19. Advance Tax applies to all tax payers, salaried, freelancers and business. Senior citizens who do not run a business are exempted from paying advance tax.

Individual whose tax liability is Rs. 10,000 or more in a FY have to pay Advance Tax. Generally employer, including PDA (Pension Disbursing Agency) deducted the TDS. Interest is applicable on late payment if it is not paid according to schedule. Tax paid after FY called Self- Assessment Tax i.e. AY 2019-20 before filling the IT Returns. There is no specific date for paying this tax by filling a Tax Challan ITNS 280 at specified bank branches or online.

There are tax exemptions under Section 10 or 54 where leave travel allowance, interest from tax-free bonds, or long-term capital gains on equity funds are excluded from the gross total income. For calculating taxes, permissible deductions under Section 80 (80C to 80U) are deducted from gross total income. 4% for education cess and secondary and higher secondary cess is to be added.

Kamal Baruah,

Garal, Guwahati.

Air India should enforce strict austerity measures

In present era of austerity and national airliner already under heavy debt, Air India should curtail freebies to its directors and staffers, including free air-passes for family-members.

Management and staff of public sector Air India should get benefits according to rules of the Union Government and not at all in an arbitrarily manner decided by its own board-members who have a definite conflict of interest in such anti-public decisions for which they themselves are beneficiaries. The Union Government should also study facilities including of free air tickets provided by private sector national airliners for family members of their staffers. It may be pointed out that facilities and benefits provided to staffers of national airliner can and must not be compared with those of international airliners where some countries are so rich that they have aeroplanes with fittings and accessories made of gold! The Union Civil Aviation Ministry should swiftly act for ensuring real austerity in Air India.

Madhu Agrawal,

1775 Kucha Lattushah,

Delhi-110006 (India).