The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Talk free on RCom today Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 27 Reliance Communications (RCom) subscribers will be able to talk free on the network tomorrow with the telecom major putting on offer free local and STD calling to celebrate its 100-million subscriber base. As part of the offer, RCom customers will be able to avail 24 hours of free local and STD calls across the Reliance network on March 28, RCom said in a statement. The one-day offer would be available to all new and existing Reliance customers across CDMA, GSM and Hello (fixed wireless) services, it added. "We are truly humbled by the trust conferred on us by our customers. This is a small gesture to appreciate and express our gratitude to our 100 million customers — the biggest such offering ever made available anywhere in the world," RCom president Mahesh Prasad said. Earlier this month, RCom became India's second operator and the fourth operator globally to serve over 100 million customers in a single country. The other operator in the country which has more than 100 million subscriber base is Bharti Airtel, which is also the country largest operator. The company has set a target to achieve the next 100 million customers on its wireless network over the next 1,000 days.
	Mittal richest UK Asian London, March 27 NRI steel baron Lakshmi Mittal, owner of the world's largest steel company ArcelorMittal, is the richest Asian in Britain for the year 2010 with an estimated wealth of 17 billion pound. According to the Asian Rich List 2010, brought out by Eastern Eye, a publication of the Asian Media & Marketing Group, 59-year-old Mittal is followed by the Hinduja brothers, Srichand and Gopichand, with 8 billion pound, Anil Agarwal of mining group Vedanta Resources with 4 billion pound, Sir Anwar Pervez of Bestways with 715 million pound and NRI industrialist Swraj Paul of Caparo with 510 million pound. The list was released at the Sofitel Hotel here last night where the Hinduja brothers, S P Hinduja and G P Hinduja, chairman and vice-chairman of the Hinduja group were presented with the “Lifetime Achievement Award” for their outstanding achievements in various spheres of life. The list noted that Mittal's rise sometimes obscured the fact that he had been one of the most enterprising figures of "our age", and no episode perhaps better reflected this than his takeover of European steel giant Arcelor. Mittal was the chairman and CEO of ArcelorMittal, while his son Aditya was the chief financial officer. Mittal's daughter Vanisha, who attracted much publicity when her father organised an extravagant wedding costing 10-20 million pound for her in France in 2004, was also on the board, it said. Paul, who is listed as the fifth richest Asian in the UK, built Caparo, a global steel company that employs over 3,000 people in the UK alone, through sheer "hard work, integrity and a lot of luck. — PTI
	Ambuja Cements opens plant at Nalagarh Shimla, March 27 Cement manufacturer Ambuja Cements today opened a new 1.5-million-tonne grinding plant at Nalagarh in Himachal Pradesh. The Rs 300-crore unit was inaugurated by Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal at Navagraon, Nalagarh. The chairman Emiritus of Ambuja Cements, Suresh Neotia, was also present at the occasion. The plant will cater to Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab and Haryana. This will be the 12th plant of Ambuja in the national network and the third in Himachal Pradesh, the company said in a statement. The new unit will have a capacity of 1.5 million tonnes, the release said, adding that it involved an investment of about Rs 300 crore. — PTI
	Aviation Notes New flight safety rules ‘advisory by KR Wadhwaney Achild, born on an international flight, gets the status of the international citizen and he/she is adopted by the airline. Similarly, the passenger of the international flight is governed by the rules of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). If a passenger misbehaving or molesting an air-hostess on the international flight , he/she will be dealt with under the ICAO rules and the airline's norms. According to the existing rules, the defaulting passenger is offloaded at the next transit destination and handed over to the police for necessary action bearing in mind the ICAO rules and norms of the Foreigners Regional Registration Organisation. Again, last year, contrary to practice of protocol, former Indian President Abdul Kalam was subjected to frisking by an American airline at IGIA. There were protests but nothing beyond could be done. Contrary to the powers vested in him, the Director-General of Civil Aviation, Dr Nassem Zaidi, has formulated rules under which a rowdy passenger on an international flight will languish in jail for one year. He has gone on record saying that he has taken into consideration the ICAO rules. While amending the 1934 Aircraft Act, Dr Zaidi has added the clause that "prohibits passengers from threatening - either verbally or physically or assaulting cabin crew or doing any such thing that prevents crew from doing from discharging their duty". According to new rules, "Passengers cannot do anything barred by the commander that can affect flight safety". Under the proposed changes, "If a passenger on a non-stop New York/New Delhi flight tries to outrage the modesty of an air-hostess over the Atlantic, he will be handed over to the police and tried under the new rules". According to analysts, how can the DGCA assume judicial powers? How can the defaulting passenger be punished without the evidence of the hostess and witness? How can case proceed without proper FIR being filed by the hostess? How can the DGCA bypass the ICAO rules? Dr Zaidi is entitled to formulate rules for the flights operating within the country. Here again the rules, formulated by the DGCA, will merely be “advisory”. He can, at best, make his “recommendation”. He cannot usurp powers of judiciary and findings of the police. Only recently, two footballers were accused of molestation in Indian air space. They were arrested. But soon they were bailed out at the behest of the politicians.
	Investor Guidance Pension, family pension taxable by AN Shanbhag Q: Please let me know whether any pension payment or family pension payment is taxable under income tax. — D. Mohan Rao A : Yes, both types of pensions are taxable. However, note that -- 1. Standard deduction is deleted by FA05 but family pension which attracts a deduction similar to standard deduction has not fortunately been touched. Where any family member of a deceased employee gets a pension after the demise of an employee, Sec. 57(iia) grants deduction of 331/3 per cent with a ceiling of Rs 15,000. 2. Members of defence forces who have been awarded Paramvir Chakra, Mahavir Chakra, Vir Chakra or other notified gallantry awards have their pensions and family pensions totally exempt from income tax. Ministry of Finance order F. No 199/19/84-IT(A1), dated 10.7.84, has approved the Swantantra Sainik Samman Pension Scheme, 1980, for such exemption. 3. FA04 has inserted Sec. 10(19) from FY 04-05 that offers complete freedom from tax on the family pension received by the widow or children or nominees, where the death of a member of armed or paramilitary forces has occurred in the course of operational duties, in prescribed circumstances and conditions. Perhaps the widower is not included through oversight but the error is of longstanding. Tax on property sale Q: My father bought a plot in 1948 for Rs 500. He transferred it on my name on Sept 25, 2008 (market value as per ready reckoner- Rs 20 lakh on that date). I sold it on Jan 16, 2010, for Rs 23 lakh. What is my tax liability? Is it a short-term gain or long-term? — Chetan Kirtane A: We presume that your father gifted the plot to you. For computing long-term capital gains arising out of the subsequent sale by the donee or the legatee, the cost of the property is the cost incurred by the donor when he originally acquired it, or if the property was acquired by the donor prior to April 1, 81, the fair market value as on April 1, 81, as assessed by an official chartered valuer, whichever is higher. Also note that though in the case of an inherited or gifted property, the cost of acquisition is the cost to the original holder (or FMV as on April 1, 81), the date of acquisition for indexing should be taken as the date of the inheritance or the gift. However, the character of long or short-term depends upon the date of acquisition of the original holder. In case, this original holder has also acquired the property by way of gift or inheritance then it will be the date of very first holder who purchased or constructed the property. In your case, the cost of the property will be its fair market value as on April 1, 81, as assessed by an official valuer but the indexation will be the index of FY 09-10 divided by index of FY 08-09. Existence of HUF Q: I have a tricky question on hand. The facts are that there existed an HUF consisting of father, his wife and their son. The wife died and the HUF continued with the father and son as members. Differences arose between the two and as a result of arbitration proceedings, the son was allotted certain properties and he opted out of the HUF. The arbitrators award was declared as a rule of law by the competent court. No order was sought from the Income Tax officer for a partition of the HUF. The father continues to file the return in the status of an HUF. The questions that arise: 1. Whether the status can continue as that of HUF. 2. When the father dies, on whom will the HUF property devolve. The father has only one child, the son as mentioned earlier has opted out of the HUF. Kindly advise. — G. P. Singh A: A single person, male or female, cannot constitute an HUF. A family consisting of a single individual is a contradiction in terms. An individual, who has obtained a share on partition of a joint family has potentiality of creating a joint family; but until he/she marries, one person alone cannot be considered as a joint family. There must be at least two members to constitute a family. The father should have dissolved the HUF and also informed the ITO. Foreign currency Q: I have been informed that I can only bring in $5000 every time I visit India. Is this true? Can I bring in more without having to declare it at the airport? Will there by any inquiries regarding how I spent the money while leaving? — Chintamani A: Persons bringing in foreign exchange in the form of foreign currency, bank notes and travellers’ cheques are required to declare these to the customs authorities in Currency Declaration Form, if the aggregate value thereof exceeds $ 10,000 or its equivalent and/or the value of foreign currency notes exceeds $ 5,000 or its equivalent. This facility is per individual, including children, major or minor. You have to realise that declaration at the airport is a mere formality. We have not come across any case where any person was asked any explanation as to how he has spent the forex he has brought in India along with his hand baggage. The authors may be contacted at wonderlandconsultants@yahoo.com