NATIONAL CO-ORDINATION COMMITTEE
OF PENSIONERS ASSOCIATIONS.
13-C Feroze Shah Road,
New Delhi. 110 001.
Website: nccpahq.blogspot.in.
E mail: nccpahq@gmail.com.
PRESIDENT:
COM.SHIV GOPAL MISHRA.(97176 47594)
SECY.
GENERAL: COM.K.K.N.KUTTY.
(98110 483030
Dated: 5.07.2020
To
Shri P.K.Purwar, CMD
BSNL,
Bharat Sanchar Bhawan,
New Delhi - 110001.
email: cmdbsnl@bsnl.co.in
Dear Sir,
Sub: Payment of medical allowance to BSNL pensioners-
Delay in payment- illegal deduction of tax deducted at source
On a payment not made over.
O0o
It has been brought to our notice by several BSNL pensioners that the BSNL had not been paying them the legitimate medical allowance for the past two years due to the financial constraints, the company is presently suffering. We have no hesitation to appreciate the present state of affairs of BSNL, given the fact that the management had not been paying the contract workers for several months. But we are certain that you will in no way connect the workers or the ex workers for the sorry state of affairs of the company. The policies of the successive Governments towards BSNL in particular and the PSUs in general had been the prime cause of the downfall of BSNL, which at one point of time had been one of the topmost profit making enterprises in the country. Unfortunately, not only in our country, but elsewhere also, the first victim of the financial problem of a company is the workers and pensioners. As you are aware, the pensioners live with a meagre income and they should not have been targeted at all.
The extra ordinary situation we could see from the representation of our pensioner members is that BSNL without making the actual payment of the medical allowance chose however to deduct the tax thereon and remit the same to the Incometax Department. Having deducted the tax, no doubt, the management has no alternative but to remit it to the Government account. Not to make over the payment of medical allowance to the pensioners ought to have been a policy decision at the top level. When such a policy decision was taken what is incomprehensible is how the local authorities or the Accounts division could consider the medical allowance as payable by BSNL or receivable by the Pensioner. When it is not receivable, obviously under the definition of salary, it could not be construed as salary and no tax could have been legally deducted. The decision of the local management of BSNL to deduct the tax on an amount, which has been decided to be not payable by the BSNL top management, (may be for a temporary period) is clearly untenable and will not be within the ambit of the provisions of the Incometax Act. Having remitted the tax to the Government account, the BSNL has no way to obtain a refund thereof from the Incometax Department. Nor will it be possible for the pensioner as the I.T. Department is bound to point out that the amount of medical allowance being receivable is to be treated as salary income. The mistake on the part of the local management of BSNL has placed the pensioner in a piquant situation as he has been asked to pay tax on an income which he has not received or earned.
In the circumstance, the only course open to BSNL management is to reverse its earlier adhoc and temporary decision of not paying the medical allowance or revive the payment thereof and make the actual payment without any further loss of time.
We, therefore, request you to kindly cause the orders to be issued to all the local managements of BSNL to immediately make the payment of medical allowance, which had been held back due to financial stringency in the case of pensioners immediately.
Thanking you,
Yours faithfully,
Sd.
K.K.N. Kuty
Secretary General.
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