Form 15 G & 15 H

1. When can the bank deduct tax at source?

The bank will deduct tax at source once the amount of interest to be credited in respect of all the fixed deposits taken together exceeds Rs. 10,000 in a financial year. This limit of Rs. 10,000 is applicable for each branch of a bank and not for all the branches of a bank taken together.

2. Who can submit form No. 15G?

First and foremost only a person who is resident in India can submit form No. 15G. So an NRI cannot submit this form.  Any person other than a Company can submit form No. 15 G. So any Individual and HUF can submit form No. 15G.

However it is not that every Individual or HUF can submit form No. 15G. Only the individual or HUF, whose tax on the estimated income for the year is nil and the amount of interest income from all the sources does not exceed the minimum exemption limit, can submit this form.

So for being eligible for you to submit this form, you need to satisfy both the above conditions.

In a situation where due to various deductions the tax payable on total income may be nil but if the total amount of interest income is expected to exceed Rs. 2 lacs you cannot submit this form.

3. Who can submit form No. 15H?

Any resident Individual who is above sixty years of age or completes sixty years during the financial year can submit form No. 15H provided his tax liability on the basis of his estimated income is nil for the financial year though the total amount of interest from all sources may exceed Rs. 2.50 lacs, the minimum amount liable for tax.

So only senior citizens can submit this form.

4. What precautions to be taken while submitting form no. 15G and 15H?

Please ensure to submit your PAN details to the bank while submitting the form No. 15G or 15 H. In case you fail to provide your PAN number to the bank, the bank will deduct TDS @ 20 percent against the applicable rate of 10 percent even if you have submitted form no. 15G and 15H.

RBI eases forward forex contracts norms for importers

Providing importers with greater flexibility in hedging, Reserve Bank on Tuesday allowed them book forward foreign exchange contracts up to 50 per cent of the eligible limit.

"...it has been decided to allow importers to book forward contracts, under the past performance route, up to 50 per cent of the eligible limit," the RBI said in a notification.

This, the RBI said, has been done after a review of the evolving market conditions and with a view to providing importers with greater flexibility in hedging facility.

It further said importers who have already booked contracts up to previous limit of 25 per cent in the current financial year, will be eligible for difference arising out of the enhanced limits.

Under the extant guidelines relating to hedging of currency risk of probable exposures based on past performance, importers are allowed to book contracts up to 25 per cent of the eligible limit.

The eligible limit is computed as the average of the previous three financial years? import turnover or the previous year's actual import turnover, whichever is higher.

SBI exploring ways to declare Vijay Mallya 'wilful defaulter'

State Bank of India, which has an exposure of Rs 1,600 crore to grounded airline Kingfisher, today said it is exploring ways to declare the carrier's promoter Vijay Mallya as a 'wilful defaulter'.

"We are looking at various ways to declare Vijay Mallya a wilful defaulter and trying build a strong case in that regard," an SBI source said.

The source said that as per RBI guidelines, it would have to be proven that the borrower had diverted funds which he taken from the bank and not paying up despite having the ability to pay.

"If we are sure on these two points, then the bank will declare Mallya a wilful defaulter," the source said.

Read More... 

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/sbi-exploring-ways-to-declare-vijay-mallya-wilful-defaulter/1253716

RBI to banks: Make all new ATMs talking machines from July

All new ATMs to be installed by commercial banks from July 2014 onwards would provide audible instructions and Braille keypads to customers, RBI said today.

The RBI's directive today came on its prior advice to banks in 2009 to make bank branches and ATMs accessible to people with disabilities and make at least one-third of the new ATMs installed as talking ATMs with Braille keypads.

"It is, therefore, reiterated that banks should make all new ATMs installed from July 1, 2014, as talking ATMs with Braille keypads," RBI said in a notification.

"Banks should lay down a road map for converting all existing ATMs as talking ATMs with Braille keypads and the same may be reviewed from time to time," it said.

RBI also asked banks to make necessary arrangements to provide all existing ATMs/future ATMs with ramps so that wheel chair users/persons with disabilities can easily access them.

"Care may also be taken to make arrangements in such a way that the height of the ATMs do not create an impediment in their use by wheelchair users," RBI said.

However, RBI said this requirement may be dispensed with in cases it is impracticable to provide ramps.

Further, RBI also asked banks to provide the facilities of magnifying glasses at all bank branches for the use of persons with low vision.

The branches should display at a prominent place notice about the availability of magnifying glasses and other facilities available for persons with disabilities, it added.

To ensure compliance of new directives, RBI also asked banks to report the progress made in this regard periodically to their customer service committee.

Public sector bankers plan to ask Finance Ministry for 5-day week

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/companies/public-sector-bankers-plan-to-ask-finance-ministry-for-5day-week/article5926262.ece

Executives from State-owned banks seem determined to prove to the Finance Ministry that a five-day work week is feasible in the banking sector.

While the ministry turned down bankers’ earlier feelers to this end, this time round, the bankers intend to knock on its doors with a cost-benefit analysis for a five-day week.

The ministry has contended in the past that the cause of financial inclusion would suffer with a shorter week, but bankers feel that in this age of modern technology, a bank is accessible to customers 24/7 via alternative delivery channels such as ATMs, the internet, mobile commerce and business correspondents. Financial Inclusion refers to mainstream banks ensuring all sections of society, in general, and vulnerable groups, in particular, have access to financial products and services at an affordable cost, in a fair, transparent manner.

According to a top public sector bank official, the Indian Banks’ Association will carry out a cost-benefit analysis of the five-day work week pattern and the same will be placed before the ministry for its consideration.

A trade union official wondered why bank employees should be denied the benefits of a five-day week when Central Government employees have been enjoying them for nearly three decades.

To increase efficiency in administration, the Union Government had introduced the five-day week in 1985, increasing daily working hours during the five days by an hour.

According to RBI data, there were 11,75,149 employees working in 169 scheduled commercial banks in the country as of March 2012.

ATMs that retaliate when attacked coming soon !!

Fancy an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) that punches the burglar in the nose if he tries to break it open?

Well, not a punch exactly, but ATMs would soon be armed with a mechanism that would spray hot foam in the face of the attacker if he tries to force it open.

Researchers at ETH University in Zurich have developed a special film that triggers an intense reaction when destroyed.

"This could be used anywhere you find things that shouldn't be touched," said Wendelin Jan Stark, a professor at ETH's department of chemistry and applied biosciences.

Stark and his team developed a self-defending surface composed of several sandwich-like layers of plastic. If the surface is damaged, hot foam is sprayed in the face of the attacker.

The researchers used plastic films with a honeycomb structure for their self-defending surface. The hollow spaces are separately filled with two chemicals: hydrogen peroxide or manganese dioxide.

The two separate films are then stuck on top of each another. A layer of clear lacquer separates the two films filled with the different chemicals. When subjected to an impact, the interlayer is destroyed, causing the hydrogen peroxide and manganese dioxide to mix.

This triggers a violent reaction that produces water vapour, oxygen and heat. The temperature of the foam reaches 80 degrees.

The newly developed film may be particularly well suited to protecting ATMs or cash transports, said the researchers.

The number of attacks on ATMs has increased in recent years.

Ministry considering proposal for fixed term for public sector bank chiefs: report

The Finance Ministry is contemplating giving a fixed tenure to chairmen and managing directors of state-owned banks in order to ensure stability in operations, according to a senior official.

"The government is examining a proposal for having a fixed tenure for CMDs of public sector banks," the Finance Ministry official said.

It has been pointed at many occasions that top executives are appointed for a short tenure that hampers implementation of medium or long-term strategies of banks, the official said.

Therefore, the government is looking at correlating the the tenure with job-related performance, the official added. At present, the retirement age for top executive is 60 years irrespective of his or her performance.
So, generally the term of CMDs varies between one year and five years.

Recently, the Finance Ministry turned down the Reserve Bank's proposal to bifurcate the post of chairman and managing director in public sector banks saying this position does not enjoy absolute powers as is being claimed by some international experts.

The ministry said this in response to the RBI's contention that CMDs of public sector banks enjoy absolute power along with boards. It said the board is a collective decision making organ through which major decisions of the organisation are implemented and to say that CMD enjoys absolute power and disregards the decision of the board of the bank is not factual.

CMDs of public sector banks are thorough professionals, having long career in the banking sector and they are well aware of the issues to be tackled in this segment.

It can be noted that in PSBs, the top executive is designated as chairman and managing director, with the exception of the largest lender State Bank of India, where the top honcho is the chairman and there are four managing directors with clearly defined executive roles under her/him.

The posts of chairman and managing director in the private sector are held separately.

The apex bank had set up a committee under the chairmanship of A S Ganguly in 2004-05 to study the issue of bifurcation of the post of chairman and managing director in banks. The panel had recommended such a bifurcation.

Private sector banks in 2007 implemented these recommendations.