The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Honda to recall over 8,000 City units Tribune News Service New Delhi, January 30 Honda Siel Cars India said it would recall over 8,000 units of sedan Honda City in the country due to defective power window switches as part of a global recall. A total of 8,532 units of 2nd generation City would be recalled in India. The vehicles were manufactured in 2007 and would be recalled for a preventive part replacement of power window switch. Yesterday, Honda had announced a global recall of 6.46 lakh units of City and Jazz models after reports of defective power window switches. However, HSCI had said the recall would not impact the hatchback Jazz sold in India as the model belonged to the later generation than the one which had been recalled in other markets of the world. Honda Siel Cars India Ltd (HSCI) is a joint venture between Honda Motor Co Ltd, Japan, and Siel Limited, a Siddharth Shriram Group company. The company said in a statement issued here, “HSCI is proactively replacing the part in these vehicles related to the potential problem of smoke coming out from the power window switch if water enters the driver window when window is left open during heavy rain or is exposed to any other liquid due to spillage”. The replacement will be carried out free of cost and the company will communicate directly with owners of the cars which are covered under this part replacement.
	Toyota recalls spread to Europe New York: The number of automobiles subject to recalls by Toyota Motor Corporation over problems with gas pedals or floor mats has reached more than 7 million worldwide, topping its global sales last year, as recalls spilled over to Europe today from North America and China. Toyota announced the recall of up to 1.8 million units in Europe due to faulty gas pedals, receiving another blow as it attempted to return to the black after logging its first group operating loss in 71 years in fiscal 2008 to last March due to the global slump in auto sales. Toyota has already announced the recalls of 2.3 million vehicles in the US, 2,70,000 in Canada and 75,000 in China over faulty gas pedals. The latest step in Europe brings the total number of Toyota vehicles subject to recalls over faulty gas pedals to nearly 4.5 million units. — Kyodo
	Corporate Results NHPC net at Rs 581 cr Mumbai, January 30 The NHPC today reported a net profit of Rs 581 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2009. It had a loss of Rs 53.94 crore in the same quarter the previous fiscal, the NHPC said.The total income rose to Rs 1,276.97 crore in the October-December quarter, from Rs 485.90 crore in the same quarter previous fiscal. Rel Cap Reliance Capital today reported a 52 per cent decline in its consolidated net profit at Rs 63 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2009. The total income of the company declined to Rs 1,488.8 crore for the December quarter, from Rs 1,573.5 crore in the same period previous fiscal. Shipping Corp Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) reported a decline of 53 per cent in its net profit at Rs 87 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2009. The total income declined to Rs 982 crore for the quarter ended December 31, from Rs 1,201 crore in the same quarter previous fiscal, SCI said. Alok Ind Alok Industries posted a 16.57 per cent rise in its net profit at Rs 58.10 crore for the third quarter of 2009-10. The company had earned a profit of Rs 49.84 crore in the year-ago period. Thermax Thermax Ltd said its net profit declined by 21.84 per cent to Rs 56.50 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, over the same period corresponding fiscal. The total income declined to Rs 748.25 crore for the latest quarter against Rs 795.05 crore for the same period previous fiscal, Thermax said. J&K Bank J&K Bank registered a net profit of Rs 392.33 crore for the nine months ended December, 2009, up by 18 per cent when compared to the net profit of Rs 331.16 crore of the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year. City Union Bank City Union Bank said its net profit rose by 26.55 per cent to Rs 40.65 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, over the same period corresponding fiscal. The total income rose to Rs 278.58 crore for the latest quarter against Rs 246.64 crore for the same period previous fiscal, City Union Bank said. Man Ind Man Industries (India) reported a 10-fold jump in its net profit at Rs 30.92 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2009. The company's net profit in the year-ago period stood at Rs 2.69 crore. The company's order-book currently stands around Rs 1,500 crore. Unitech Unitech reported a jump of 29.37 per cent in the consolidated net profit for the quarter ended December 31 at Rs 176.01 crore, thereby signalling a revival of demand. — PTI, TNS
	Investor Guidance by A.N. Shanbhag Only $3 lakh can be sent to kin abroad Q: I have a DDA flat in New Delhi (South) & it is in name of my wife. The same was bought in 1996 for Rs. 6.50 lakh. Now it is being finalised for Rs. 40 lakh to be registered in April. Please advise on the following: 1. How to invest to avoid capital gain tax. 2. My daughter is in New York. She is a green card holder. How do I send part of money to her? As I am a retired government officer should I take permission from Income-Tax department to sell and send money to my daughter who is unmarried? — N C Rajvanshi A: You may save capital gains tax either by applying the capital gain amount to buy another property or by investing the capital gain amount in capital gain tax saving bonds u/s 54EC. Regarding the other question, please note that Indians are allowed to remit abroad up to $ 100,000 per annum for maintenance of close relatives. Your daughter will be a close relative of yours as per the law and hence this should take care of your requirements. Also you may gift up to $200,000 per financial year. Therefore, an Indian resident may send as much as $ 3,00,000 per annum abroad out of which $100,000 is necessarily to close relatives. There is no requirement of taking permission from the tax department either for the sale or for sending your daughter the funds. Rebate on bank loan Q : I have booked an under-construction flat by paying Rs 4 lakh in October, 2009 . In January, 2010, I will be making a payment of 85 per cent of the cost of the flat and bulk of it will be by securing a bank loan. This bank loan too will be disbursed in January. The possession of the flat will be given in April, 2013. In these circumstances will I be given the benefit of a tax break in respect of the interest paid for the loan when I get the possession of the house in April, 2013? Please take into account the fact that I acquired property (i.e. booked it) before I took a bank loan (and started repaying) and it's possession is being given to me after 3 years of loan disbursement. — Marwaha A: Interest paid on housing loan taken before obtaining possession of the house is deductible in five equal instalments beginning from the financial year in which you obtain possession. The installment for the so-called “pre-possession” period has to be clubbed with the interest deduction claimed for the year in which the possession is obtained. For self-occupied residential property, the limit for interest deduction (along with the pre-possession interest) is Rs 1,50,000. For let out properties or deemed let out properties, there is no monetary ceiling. Tax on perks Q: I wish to know the exact date of the issue of the recent circular regarding taxing of perquisites. Also, as per the circular is conveyance allowance and medical reimbursement taxable? — B H Patel A: The date of the issue of the notification (and not circular) is December 18, 2009. However, the note that perquisites given to employees will be taxable from April 1, 2009. Conveyance allowance up to Rs. 800 per month and medical reimbursement up to Rs 15,000 per annum is not taxable. ESOP Q: I am to receive some shares of my company under its ESOP scheme. Could you clarify the tax position in case the shares bought under ESOP are held for one year from date of exercise/receipt? Will it be long-term gain? What tax rate will be payable? — Eskay Gupta A: Such shares will qualify as long-term assets and the rules regarding capital gains taxation apply. Therefore, if and when you sell the shares after one year of exercise of the options, if the sale takes place on a stock exchange and STT is paid, then there will be no long-term capital gains tax payable. Else, the long-term capital gains tax would be 10 per cent. No saving a/c for NRIs Q : I have joint accounts with all my family members in two banks and a few fixed deposits in my name. I became an NRI in this financial year. I have not visited India after my status changed and I don’t plan to visit India for two and a half years more. My questions are: 1) What do I need to do as far as my savings accounts are concerned? 2) I have submitted Form 15-G for the tax implications on my FDs, what do I need to do with that. — Amardeep A: It is not clear from your query whether you have redesignated your savings bank and fixed deposit accounts as NRO. An NRI cannot have resident savings accounts and fixed deposits. These have to be converted to NRO. You may convey to the bank the fact about your change in status from resident to NRI. The bank then will do the needful. NRIs are not eligible for Form 15G. When the status of your accounts changes, automatically your application of Form 15G will stand cancelled. The authors may be contacted at wonderlandconsultants@yahoo.com
	Aviation Notes by K.R. Wadhwaney IGI developer cold to Preity episode Tomboy in youth, Preity Zinta got locked in a toilet room at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) on Tuesday evening. She was returning by a Jet Airways flight to Mumbai from Delhi after finishing her private assignment in the capital when this scary incident took place. This is not the first time that such a sad incident has taken place at the busy international airport nor it will be the last. Several untoward and nasty incidents have been taking place owing to lax control. When Preity, 34, got trapped in the toilet room, she started screaming. There was panic at the airport. The lady staff, however, managed to throw a chair inside the room from roof. She managed to climb and jumped out of the toilet roof. As she heaved a sigh of relief, she started “thanking her stars” for an escape. This is sad but it is nevertheless a fact that the IGIA is a heavily-used public outfit, which has never been known to cater to the needs of toilet users, both Indian and foreign. Several complaints have been lodged by passengers in feedback kiosks at the IGIA, but they have not been looked into by the private developer, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), owned by the GMR group. Renovated at a very high cost, its functioning has not been in keeping with the international airport. Its upkeep has not shown much improvement. While boarding the flight, Preity said: "I thought I was going to die as I am claustrophobic. I pulled a muscle in my arm but did provide entertainment to all". DIAL adds an insult to injury by saying: "The issue involving Preity Zinta was unfortunate and we are happy she is fine". Officials put a spin the tail by saying: "No complaint was made to them on the toilet door malfunctioning". What do the DIAL officials mean by saying that "no complaint was lodged"? Do the officials expect that, after this huge newspaper exposure, the actress should find time to lodge an official complaint about the malfunctioning of the door at the recently constructed ID terminal? The “toilet” is one precious room where the already harassed passenger has to necessarily spend a few moments exclusively. Yet the authorities have been negligent with the installation of accessories and functioning of the toilets. As recently as late December, the users had pointed out to the authorities that “the toilets do not match airport's look”. Despite lofty claims by Dial, the functioning of the IGIA has been far from satisfactory. During last 30 days, it has been as it has always been in December-January. The truth is that the authorities are unable to handle operations during foggy season. The re-scheduling of the flights is the only alternative to help prevent passengers facing insurmountable inconveniences and airlines sustaining heavy losses owing to uncalled disruptions and diversions.
	Price index up Shimla, January 30 Consumer prices-based inflation jumped to 14.97 per cent in December from 13.51 per cent in November, fuelled by higher cost of food items, including wheat, wheat flour, milk and sugar. During December, 2009, the index recorded a maximum increase of 5 points each in Yamunanagar, Mundakkayam and Puducherry centres, 4 points each in Madurai, Goa and Guntur centres, 3 points in 7 centres, 2 points in 9 centres and 1 point each in 19 centres. The maximum increase of 5 points in Yamunanagar centre is mainly on account of increase in the prices of wheat, atta, fresh milk, sugar, firewood etc. — PTI