National Thermal Power Corporation

 (NTPC's) 1,980 MW super-thermal power plant in Jharkhand, has received the Prime Minister's Cabinet Committee on Investment's (CCI) nod, to resume operations. This power project's proposal has been pending for more than a decade, as in 2003, Coal India had raised the issue that NTPC's power plant would be sitting on an area with nearly six billion tonnes of reserves. But now it has investigated that, this thermal power plant in Jharkhand will not impact mining activity at Coal India's Karanpura mines, located close by. Hence both Coal India and NTPC have agreed to work on their respective projects. The power plant will be operational for 35 years. After that, the land will be available for mining. NTPC has invested Rs 2.5 bn in the project and obtained various clearances. The project, in fact, has received support from the Ministry of Environment & Forests as well.

ITC at Robust pace

Tobacco major, ITC's Agri Business Division - ILTD, which works with the tobacco farmers in Mysore and Hassan districts, has developed affordable farm mechanization solution for small tobacco farmers. In order to develop farm solutions, ILTD imported the technology from a manufacturer in Italy. With the help of this solution, the company can save 50% of the labor requirement in tobacco cultivation. This solution is likely to benefit 60,000 farm families and laborers, as labor shortage always hinders operations timeline, impacts crop quality and the export potential.

While regulatory headwinds have led to a moderation in ITC's cigarette business, the impact has been partially offset by the brisk growth in its FMCG business. Despite a structural rise in taxation, ITC has been able to expand margins in its core cigarette business, thanks to the huge pricing power enjoyed by it. Even cigarettes launched in the new filter segment (cigarette length not exceeding 65 mm) have met with reasonable success and the company is rolling out the products across the country. The company has been consistently reducing losses in the FMCG segment. All these factors have enabled ITC to grow its topline as well as earnings at a robust pace.

How do I get my Form 26AS?

How do I get my Form 26AS?

Form 26AS is available online on the income tax website, and you can view it by quoting your PAN number, once you register yourself on the income tax website. You can even download it in the PDF or Excel format and keep it as a record with you.

Here are the steps to register and view your Form 26AS:

1. Go to income tax filing website: www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in
   
2. As a New User, you need to click on 'Register', and register your PAN and password along with other details required in the registration form
   
3. Once you are registered, go to the Login page, or Click on "View Form 26AS (Tax Credit)", which will ask for your login details.
   
4. Post login, in the "My Account" section, you can click on the sub section - "View Tax Credit Statement (Form 26AS)"
   
5. Choose the Assessment Year for which you need to view your tax credit statement, enter your Date of Birth and click SUBMIT
   
6. It will ask for a confirmation and redirect you to NSDL website to view your form 26AS
   
7. Click on "View Form 26AS" to get your Form 26AS
   

While the income tax filing website provides you with Form 26AS post registration; being a customer of technically advanced bank, you can also get direct link to your Form 26AS through your net banking account. Many banks like SBI, IDBI Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank etc as a feature in their internet banking facility, also provide a direct link to its customers to view their Form 26AS. By clicking on the link, you will be directly routed to TDS Reconciliation Analysis and Correction Enabling System (TRACES) website, where can directly see your tax credit statement (earlier it routed you to NSDL website).

What will you see in your Form 26AS?

Your tax credit statement broadly consists of 5 parts:

• Part A - Details of Tax Deducted at Source: It shows details of all the transactions where the Tax has been deducted at Source for any payments made to you (mapped against your PAN) and has been submitted to the income tax department. It shows the Name and TAN of the deductor along with the section under which deduction was made (e.g. section 192 for salary), date on which payment was credited, amount paid/credited, tax deducted from payments and deposited in the bank are also included in this part.
  
• Part B - Details of Tax Collected at Source: It shows details of the transactions where the tax has been collected from you by the seller of specified goods and submitted to the income tax department. Other details in respect of the seller and the tax collected are similar to as those displayed in Part A.
  
• Part C - Details of Tax Paid (Other than TDS or TCS): It shows details of income tax which has been paid directly by you (like advance tax, self-assessment tax). It also shows the date of tax deposited and details of the challan through which you have deposited this tax in the bank.
  
• Details of Paid Refund: It shows the details of any refund (in the year) paid to you by Income Tax Department along with the assessment year for which refund is paid. It also shows the mode of payment, amount of refund and date of payment.
  
• Details of transaction of Mutual Fund, Shares and Bonds (as reported by AIR filer) -This shows the details of 'high value financial transactions' done by you (as reported in Annual Information Report - AIR filer under section 285BA). Details of the nature of transaction, name of AIR filer, date of transaction, whether single or joint party transaction, no. of joint transacting parties, amount and mode of transactions are also included.
  

When is Form 26AS used the most?

While you can view Form 26AS multiple times in a year, it is usually helpful at the end of the year before filing your tax returns. Before filing your tax returns, you might want to check the amount of total tax already paid by you through different ways in the given year and then you pay the remaining tax. In case you find that you have paid extra tax in a year, then you can submit your tax credit statement to the income tax department while filing and request for a tax refund.

In case you see any entry on account of TDS/TCS credit in your Form 26AS which is not pertaining to you, you may intimate the deductor/collector. In case the erroneous entry is on account of advance tax or self-assessment tax, you may intimate your Assessing Officer. In case if any of the issue has not been resolved by the deductor, then you can contact Aaykar Sampark Kendra (ASK) at 0124-2438000 or Central Processing Center (CPC) of TDS.

Hold L&T Finance for long term,

Hold L&T Finance for long term, says Tulsian

 

SP Tulsian of sptulsian.com advised holding L&T Finance for long term as he feels L&T holds the maximum chances of getting banking license.

Tulsian told CNBC-TV18, “I will advice to remain invested in L&T Finance Holdings . I won’t advice to buy more because the kind of swing and volatility the share is closer to its upper circuit and never it is advisable to buy or to do the trading or averaging more. If you ask me for any reason, if you go by the feedback and the opinion even if Reserve Bank of India (RBI) allots four or five banks, L&T holds the maximum chances of getting that banking license.”

He further added, “L&T is quite aggressive and capable to acquire the existing banks also which have no identified promoter. So, taking all this into consideration from a banking point of view it looks a very good stock but that should not be the only theme. If you go by the present financials with a market cap of Rs 15,000 crore price to book of 2.5 the stock looks expensive. And generally I have been taking a ballpark figure that the banking license can add or increase the market cap by about Rs 1000 crore.”

“I will advice to remain invested into the stock for a longer term horizon. I won’t be hesitative in saying that one should not be hesitant in exiting or making the profit booking in three digit whenever the stock reaches to those levels and look to buy that stock back again at the lower level, but no buying now. Hold your stock till Rs 100 and keep a long-term view. But keep trading beyond Rs 100 in the stock for a gain of about Rs 4-5 on each round of trade.” Tulsian added

GO LONG says Mr Mulraj, an expert in investment advice

When it comes to investing, it is necessary to do your homework. Studying the financials of the company, meet the management; evaluate performance against the peers, etc. These are just some of the points that you cover when judging if a stock can be invested into or not. After doing the groundwork, you study the company's valuations. If it is available at cheap and attractive valuations, you go ahead and invest your money in it. But having purchased the stock, the big question is what next? How long should you hold the stock for it to deliver that fantastic performance that you want and expect?

The answer to this question should ideally be never. But unfortunately not everyone would go for this option. So we decided to discuss the other options available. To understand the options better we collected some statistical evidence. The data we have taken is for the BSE-Sensex to show shows the returns investors would have fetched had they invested in the BSE Sensex 10, 5, 3 and 1 year back respectively. The following chart gives the CAGR returns that you would have earned on the closing price of 22nd February, 2013.

Source: BSE

It must be noted here that the 5 year performance looks depressed because of bull period that Indian markets enjoyed till 2008. Nevertheless, the picture is still quite clear. If stocks were held for one year or a three year period, the compounded annual returns. (CAGR) that one would earn would be a meager 6%. On the other hand, if you had held on to the stock for 10 years, the CAGR would have been an amazing 19%. And this is just the returns in prices. It does not include the returns earned through dividends.

This gives a fair idea on how long the stock should be held. The answer is for a long term horizon. The thing is that there can be periods of time when irrationality and emotion, rather than fundamentals will drive stock prices. And such periods, of excessive greed or fear, could last for months, if not years. But sooner or later rationality is bound to return to the market and then, stock markets have to value companies based on what they are truly worth. Naturally one cannot expect this to happen in short term periods. It can only happen in the long term.

So the recipe to get rich through investing is actually a simple one. Do your homework. Buy the stock at cheap valuations. Then sit back and rest. In the long term, you will reap spectacular gains for sure. But remember what we are advocating is a Buy and Hold approach. Not a buy and forget philosophy. Periodic checkups are necessary to ensure that the fundamentals of the company are intact. And as long as they are, continue to hold it for a long term.

ITC a must-have in every long-term portfolio: Agarwal

Rajesh Agarwal of Eastern Financiers feels ITC is a must have in a long term portfolio due to its strong management and balance sheet.

Rajesh Agarwal

Head of Research

Rajesh Agarwal of Eastern Financiers feels ITC  is a must have in a long term portfolio due to its strong management and balance sheet.

Agarwal told CNBC-TV18, “Talking about the fundamentals, there cannot be a better play if you are looking at Indian consumption story rather than ITC. It is a must have in long-term portfolio be it fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), cigarettes, apparels, hotels everything is under single company. I think it is just a matter of time when the stock starts performing. At this point of time at 30 times earnings it might look expensive to some people. But still with the kind of history it has, the strong management, strong balance sheet and not to forget the cash position this company has in its balance sheet is a must have in a long-term portfolio.”

He further said, “For the investor who is there for a very short-term and is worried about the tax being implemented in the coming Budget, there can be a kneejerk reaction with the kind of noise being there in the entire world about tobacco products. But with FMCG business of this company on a verge of being profitable in the very near future, one should increase time horizon and be in the stock.”

“I do not think there is much to lose even if taxes are imposed. There might be a kneejerk reaction that the stock might go down by Rs 10-20 but it would recover just because of the fact that its other businesses are doing well. A price target of around Rs 325 for a very short-term period is quite possible and for a longer term horizon it is a must have in one’s portfolio,” Agarwal added.

L&T Finance Holdings

Moneycontrol Bureau

Brokerage house JP Morgan has initiated coverage on L&T Finance Holdings with a 'neutral' rating, saying that the stock was fully valued at current levels.

L&T Finance shares were up 4 percent at Rs 85, as the market is betting that the company's impending application for a banking licence will be approved by the Reserve Bank of India.

"A strong brand, access to L&T's vendor/customer network, lending portfolio that spans across multiple facets of retail, corporate and infrastructure  lending and management that has considerable experience in incubating long  gestation projects are some of the key strengths of the business. A unique Holdco (holding company) structure also allows for efficient capital allocation in the underlying operating companies," the JP Morgan note to clients said.

"Further, the company in our view is a front-runner for a new banking licence as and when it gets awarded. The stock is fully valued at the current share price, in our view," the note said. JP Morgan has a price target of Rs 80 on the stock.

UK PM Cameron says, "India's rise is going to be one of the major phenomenon of this century. It is incredibly impressive to see the vibrancy of your democracy and great strength of the diversity of your country and endorse power of your economy. It is going to be one of the top three economies by 2030. That is why I am here. Britain wants to be your partner of choice."

UK PM Cameron says, "India's rise is going to be one of the major phenomenon of this century. It is incredibly impressive to see the vibrancy of your democracy and great strength of the diversity of your country and endorse power of your economy. It is going to be one of the top three economies by 2030. That is why I am here. Britain wants to be your partner of choice."

The sector that has broken down and has significant representation on the index is capital goods. Technically, what do you see for some of those stocks?

A: Luckily, capital goods do not constitute the top five-six stocks on the index because it is quite interesting that in the last 2-2.5 weeks, while the Nifty has corrected about 200 points, the broader market has corrected significantly. The smallcap index has retraced 61 percent of its entire rise of the last four-five months. The midcap index has done about 50 percent. Capital goods has been one of the biggest underperformers and it is really disappointing because till the capital goods index does not show signs of strength, it does not make sense to buy these stocks just on face value.

When one talks about stocks like L&T, Siemens , BHEL one feels that these stocks cannot go lower. However, they have been seriously underperforming. I would not look at them. But I think the top five-six constituents of the index, whether Sensex or the Nifty, they contribute about 30 percent of the market and are looking the steadiest at this point. Stocks like ITC , Reliance ,ONGC , HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank , these five-six popular stocks, unless they correct significantly, the index is unlikely to go down too much.

This is an important takeaway. It is very important that one is invested in these five-six stocks atleast from a portfolio perspective because then one is moving along with the market and one would not suffer the kind of damage that we have seen in the midcaps recently. So, one has to be choosy. However, at the same time our favourites right now would be banking, technology to a certain extent and autos.

Clunky KYC norms keep investors away

KYC registration agencies need to coordinate better; more clarity needed on documents required.

Kayezad E. Adajania |  Joel Rebello

 Feb 11 2013. 09 11 PM IST

Shyamal Banerjee/Mint

How hard can it be to fill up a one-page form that asks for simple things, such as your name, age, address, telephone number and sundry details that you would have at your fingertips? Take the case of the know-your-client (KYC) form that asks for these and a few more details; nothing, of course, that you wouldn’t, or shouldn’t, know. As per capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi)’s guidelines, if you wish to invest in a mutual fund (MF), you must be KYC-compliant. In other words, you need to fill out the KYC form and have it approved by any one of the five KYC registration agencies (KRAs). But looks can be deceptive. This simple and innocuous looking form can raise havoc in your investing life.

Devitoma Kar, 31, a homemaker based in Rupnagar, Punjab, found this the hard way. On the back of rising equity markets in October 2012, Kar tried to open an MF investment account with Fundsindia.com. She was particularly interested in investing in gold MFs. Along with the account opening form, she duly filled out the KYC form (since she was a first-time MF investor) and sent it to the portal along with a copy of her residence and identity proofs. Weeks later, her KYC was rejected.

She later found out that there was another KYC form— in her name—pending at one of the KRAs; unless she filled and completed that form, her new KYC (through Fundsindia.com) would not go through, she was told by an email that Fundsindia.com sent her almost a month later. “I had no idea what the other KYC was; I did not know what to do,” Kar told us over telephone from Rupnagar, where she now lives at the Indian Institute of Technology campus with her husband who teaches there. It took Kar three months to sort out the mess; in January 2013, her Fundsindia.com account was finally ready, allowing her to invest in MFs.

Like Kar, many investors face different problems in getting their KYC done. And it’s not even about filling a wrong detail here or leaving a blank there. Despite filling out details diligently, there is still a chance that your KYC application gets rejected. One of the biggest problems that investors face is because of lack of coordination among various KRAs. Here’s what it means.

In October 2011, Sebi said that if you wished to invest in the stock markets, either through a stock broker, MFs or portfolio management services and so on, you needed to do your KYC, just once. This single KYC would have to be done “in-person” but will be valid through all such stock market intermediaries. Further, Sebi also allowed some firms to set up KRAs so that you—the investor—do not have to do KYCs again and again. These KRAs would store your KYC records and would share your KYC record among them (as multiple KRAs are allowed to be set up). The idea: Do a KYC with any intermediary who will then approach any KRA that it has tied up with and upload your details. Then if you approach another intermediary, it should be able to pull out your earlier KYC and confirm your KYC status.

KRA inter-operability is a distant dream

At present, there are five KRAs—CAMSKRA (set up by Computer Age Management Services (Cams), one of the two largest registrar and transfer agents to service MFs); CDSL Ventures Ltd (CVL, a division of Central Depository Services (India) Ltd); NSDL Database Management Ltd (NDML, a subsidiary of National Securities Depository Ltd); DotEx International Ltd, a unit of the National Stock Exchange; and Karvy Data Management Services Ltd.

Last year, Sebi also mandated the intermediaries to upload your KYC records on the centralized system (through any KRA). Here’s where Kar’s—and apparently many other investors’—KYC got stuck. Kar had opened a demat account with a stock brokerage firm in 2010 and forgot about it, eventually. In 2012, Sebi instructed intermediaries to upload their existing clients’ KYC details in the KRA system in a phased manner. Mainly stock brokers were affected by this as KYC was mandated long back to open demat accounts. Kar’s existing KYC details with her stock broker (done when she had opened her stock broking account) also got uploaded at NDML Ltd (a KRA). “But it turned out that my KYC done at that time was incomplete. When I tried to do a (fresh) KYC with Fundsindia.com last year, my new KYC clashed with my existing KYC (which was already uploaded) and things came to a halt. After a lot of back and forth, I was forced to close my stock broking account, make my earlier KYC redundant and then fill up a new KYC form all over again. Then, my KYC got approved,” she says.

Fundsindia.com typically uploads its clients’ KYC detail on CVL KRA. If inter-operability works in true spirit, CVL KRA should be able to accept the remaining details, irrespective of which intermediary (Kar’s earlier stock broker or Fundsindia.com) submits the KYC documents afresh.

Apart from this, if your KYC is done, you should also be able to check your KYC status at any of the KRAs’ websites and get a confirmation. For instance, if your KYC application gets registered with one KRA, your status should show “KYC Complete” on all KRA websites. “Unfortunately, many times this does not happen. If the KYC process is efficient, the investor should be able to give KYC documentation through any KRA. Isn’t that what a uniform KYC meant to do?” says Rajesh Krishnamoorthy, managing director, iFast Financial India Pvt. Ltd.

“Inter-operability (connectivity) between the five KRAs is still in process; it’s not yet complete. This is a big problem, but we expect it to be resolved soon,” says Srikanth Meenakshi, director, Fundsindia.com.

The problem compounds when you submit your KYC application form at the time of investment, only to be rejected later. One of Shashank Joshi’s (a Mumbai-based MF distributor) client’s KYC got rejected almost 15 days after she had submitted her KYC and investment application forms. Once the KYC got rejected, the fund house refunded her money. “In the meantime, if the market moves sharply, the investor loses out,” says Joshi. Like Kar, Joshi’s client had opened a stock broker’s account in 2008; her stock broker subsequently uploaded her KYC records that turned out to be incomplete.

When any change means trouble

When Kolkata-based Paromita Haldar Roy got married in 2009—she subsequently took up a job at Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp.—she chose to retain both her maiden name (Haldar) as well her husband’s last name (Roy). Her plans hit the roadblock when she tried to open a salary bank account in her new job, at HDFC Bank Ltd which did not allow her to use both her names. That’s not all. When she tried to apply for a ration card, she was told to put one of the two names in brackets. Her voter identity and Aadhaar cards accepted both her names. Finally, she opened her bank account that does not carry her maiden name. “As a result, my full name appears differently in my office, bank account, Aadhaar card and the ration card,” says Haldar Roy.

But can banks insist on only one last name and not two, like in Haldar Roy’s case? “No. the account holder has a choice to use her maiden name, married name or both these names or she can even use neither, provided she submits a relevant document such as a marriage certificate as proof,” says a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) spokesperson, who did not want to be named.

As part of your KYC, you also have to submit proof for your residential address, both current and permanent. But what happens if you don’t own a house and stay in a rented accommodation? Hari Unnikrishnan, 32, a professor, wanted to open a bank account with South Indian Bank in Bangalore when he moved there in 2012. As part of his KYC, he had to submit a residence proof. Unnikrishnan had a problem. Since he lived with his friend in Bangalore, the rent agreement was not in his name. It’s only when he requested his college to write a letter certifying that he teaches there, that his KYC was complete and he was allowed to open a bank account. “Three months later when I took a place on rent, I took my rent agreement and updated my new address on it,” says Unnikrishnan.

That is not all. The slow enrolment of Aadhaar numbers has meant that some banks still do not accept Aadhaar as a valid proof. Those who wish to open a savings account have to either produce a ration card, a rental agreement or a utility bill as proof of address. This, in spite of RBI allowing banks to accept Aadhaar cards issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) as a valid address proof for opening a new account, in December. Before the December notification Aadhaar was just considered as a proof of identity and not an address proof as bankers were confused after a previous RBI notification said lenders have to “satisfy themselves about the current address of the customer by obtaining required proof of the same…”

What should you do

Says V.N. Kulkarni, chief counsellor, Abhay credit counselling centre: “The recent rise in threats related to terrorism has put KYC in the spotlight and unlike western countries there is no single social security number here, hence the emphasis on documentation.”

Kulkarni specifies that there are six different identity proofs accepted by banks, according to RBI regulations. They are Permanent Account Number, Aadhaar, voter identity card, passport, identity cards issued by central or state governments and driving licence. For address proof, there is electricity bill, telephone bill or rent agreement.

“For young workers and students who may not have a residential proof, banks accept a letter from the company in which case the statements will be sent to the office of the person,” says Kulkarni, who also adds that “ration cards are also not accepted as address proof by banks because of an increase in number of duplicate cards and a government notification debarring the acceptance of ration cards”. However, many banks claim that they accept ration cards.

As we cut through the KYC noise and clutter, hope comes from finance minister P. Chidambaram. “It’s important that the KYC norms within a market regulator should converge and become one set of KYC norms. The next step is to converge the KYC norms of different regulators,” he said at a press conference in Mumbai last week when he mourned why retail investors get scared from investing in financial instruments. And when he blamed this on why it is easier for investors to invest in gold (“there are no KYC norms in buying a gold coin”) instead, little wonder the audience gave him a big round of applause. “Life must be made simple,” said Chidambaram.

Vivina Vishwanathan contributed to this story.  

. There are over 400,000 individuals in the country with taxable incomes beyond Rs 20 lakh.

Jewellery, car attract wealth tax too

Shakti Chawla

source the hindu businessline   

2

My father started investing in assets such as motor cars and jewellery, thinking this would get him out of the tax net. But were you aware that such assets are also subject to tax? Like my dad, most people tend to focus only on income-tax and are unaware of the fact that actually there is yet another direct tax that all of us are subject to, i.e. wealth tax.

The basic difference is that income tax is payable on income whereas wealth tax is payable on wealth. Wealth constitutes the assets you buy with your income after paying income tax.

Essentially, wealth tax is a tax on the value of the assets owned. Wealth tax is to be paid on the market value of the assets year after year, whether or not such assets yield any income. Every individual and HUF whose net wealth (assets less liabilities incurred to acquire the assets) as on March 31 exceeds Rs 30 lakh is required to pay wealth tax at the rate of 1 per cent, of the amount that exceeds the limit. Therefore, wealth tax will be applicable on the asset even if it is purchased at the end of the year. Conversely, those assets sold during the year and consequently not held as on March 31 escape the levy of wealth tax.

Every individual, holding assets in India, the value of which exceeds the threshold limit shall come under its ambit. This means that even NRIs come under the realm of wealth tax. However, NRIs are not subject to wealth tax in respect of the assets held outside India unless they qualify to be residents of India. Also, if an NRI returns to India with the intention of permanently residing here, the assets brought in by him or her will be exempt. Moreover, the money and the assets acquired from the money brought by an NRI within one year after his or her return shall be exempt. This exemption is available to an NRI for a period of seven years after his or her return to India according to section 5(1)(v) of the Wealth Tax Act.

Wealth tax is payable on assets such as real estate and bullion owned by the assessee as well as on deemed assets such as those owned by a spouse, a minor child and so on.

Consequently, assets such as shares, securities, mutual funds and fixed deposits, which are generally termed as ‘productive assets’ are exempt from wealth tax. Though there is a long list of items such as yachts, boats, aircrafts, among others, that are subject to wealth tax, as of now, we shall consider only those assets that are commonly owned, such as real estate, jewellery and cars.

house property

One house is exempt from wealth tax. In other words, ownership of more than one house will attract wealth tax liability. There are three exceptions. If a property is used to conduct business or professional activity, or if it forms a part of stock-in-trade or has been rented out for at least 300 days in the year, wealth tax is not applicable on such property.

cars

Tax in this case would be applicable at the market price of the car. However, there are exceptions in cases where the car is used in a car hiring business.

jewellery

Jewellery, in this case, includes ornaments made of gold, silver, platinum, bullion or any other precious metal and precious or semi-precious stones. Such items even if sewn into clothes or set into furniture have to be considered for wealth tax purpose.

Further, cash in hand in excess of Rs 50,000 is also subject to wealth tax.

Lastly, if you find yourself liable to wealth tax, merely transferring the assets to your spouse will not help. Clubbing provisions similar to those applicable in the income tax law are also applicable in the case of wealth tax. Therefore, any asset gifted to a spouse, a minor child or a son’s wife will be, notwithstanding the gift, deemed to belong to the taxpayer himself or herself. 

Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He, who understands it, earns it ... he who doesn't, pays it." - Albert Einstein

3 Ways to View Tax Credit (Form 26AS)

sourceTax Guru

View Tax Credit (Form 26AS) detail on Income Tax, NSDL website and in Online Banking A/c

Please help us disseminating this information to every Tax payer.

You can now view your Form 26AS (Taxes paid) at ITR e-Filing website, without any additional login. To view the tax statement, Assessees can now login in to www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in with their login, and click on “My Accounts” -> “View Tax CreditStatement (Form 26AS)”. Here, you should select the “assessment year”, confirm your “date of birth” and proceed. It will open the same NSDL website page of PAN ledger account.

What is Form 26AS?

Form 26AS is an Annual Tax Statement regularly updated by Income Tax Department. This allows the tax payer to verify proper credits of Taxes paid (mainly TDS and also Advance Tax / Self Assessment Tax).

Who should verify?

When we deposit some amount into our Bank Account, we verify whether it has reflected properly in our account, or not. In a similar fashion, it is the right of every Tax Payer to verify the Taxes paid under his account (PAN) to the Department.

With the process of Form 26AS, department recommends each and every tax payer to verify theirTax credits. Missing this information, they should contact their deductor to get proper credit, as specified in their TDS certificate. In case of Advance Tax / Self Assessment Tax issues, it can be either intimated to remitted bank or NSDL.

Scope of Form 26AS

Last year, department had processed such tax statements over email, wherever email ID is available. This played a prominent role for assessees in determining their proper tax paid details. Providing accurate tax paid (including TDS) details in income tax return, ensures faster processing of returns. This in turn results in faster closure of assessment and also settling refunds wherever applicable.

The scope of Form 26AS is widened to a great extent. Tax payer can now access this facility either with his Registered Login at NSDL website, or at Online Banking Accounts (few of the banks) or at www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in .

Verify your tax credit today! We also recommend you to file your I-T returns electronically.

Kindly spread this information among your friends / colleagues…

Best Term Insurance plans in India

Best Term Insurance plans in India – Comparison with Charts

by Manish Chauhan ·

Which is the best term insurance plan in India ? Which Insurance company has the best claim settlement Ratio? Online term Insurance or Offline Term Insurance ? These are some of the questions which comes in the mind of every Term Insurance buyer! . So are you looking for Term Insurance comparison at one place ? Do you have all the sufficient information to decide which is the best term plan you can buy? Today I will show you all the data like riders, maximum/minimum tenure, max age till when term plan covers a person and data on the premium, Claim settlement Ratio at one place! .

Best Term Insurance plans in India – A comparision List

There are many term insurance plans in India, but all of them have different premiums and features which confuses a prospective customer to choose the best term plan for him. Below is a table which shows all the online and offline term insurance plans name, and their premiums. But before that, make sure you fully understand what is a term insurance plan ? Better read the 9 most asked questions about Term Insurance

Company Name	Policy Name	Mode	Riders Available	Premium (1 crore SA)
Aegon Religare	iTerm	Online	Yes	7,300
Bharti Axa	e-Protect	Online	No	7,300
Aviva	i-Life	Online	No	7,368
HDFC Life	Click2Protect	Online	No	10600
Kotak	e-Preffered	Online	No	10825
Edelweiss Tokio	Life Protection Plan	Online	Yes	11,500
Metlife	Met-Protect	Online	No	11,600
ING Vyasa	My Term Insurance	Offline	NA	11,891
ICICI Prudential	i-Care	Online	Yes	13000
DLF Pramerica	U-Protect	Online	Yes	13,400
SBI life	Smart Shield	Offline	Yes	16,798
Bajaj Allianz	iSecure	Online	Yes	18400
Max NewYork	Platinum Protect	Offline	Yes	23,500
IDBI Fedral	Termassurance	Online	No	25,350
LIC	Amulya Jeevan	Offline	No	33,600
Future Generali	Smart Life	Online	No	NA
Birla Sun Life	Protector Plus	Offline	Yes	NA
Tata Aig	Maha Raksha	NA	NA	NA
Reliance	Term Insurance	Offline	NA	NA
Canara HSBC	Life Pure	NA	NA	NA
India First	AnyTime Plan	Online	NA	NA
Sahara Life Insurance	Kavach	NA	NA	NA
Star-Union Dai-ichi	Term Plan	NA	NA	NA

Note : The premiums above are for 30 yrs old non-smoking male, and 30 yrs policy tenure. The premium quoted is for Rs 1 crore sum assured and does not include service tax. The premiums displayed were taken from respective life insurance companies websites and should be treated as indicative premiums.

Brief overview of Riders

Most of the term plans also allow riders along with their plans. Riders are nothing but additional benefits which you can take by paying some extra premium. Lets see some of the riders and what they mean. A term plan might be offering some of the riders mentioned below.

AD (Accidental Death) : The policy pays you additional sum assured in case the death happens due to an accident . Note that even if you don’t take this rider, the sum assured is always paid on death, whether accidental or not !.
CI (Critical Illness) : This rider gives you a lump sum amount if you are diagnosed with an illness which is mentioned in the policy . Generally all the major illnesses are covered in Critical Illness cover.
DR (Accidental Disability Rider) : This rider covers you for disability and pays you Sum assured in 10 installments per year  incase you becomes temporary or permanent disabled person.
WP (Waiver of Premium) : This rider makes sure that incase you are not able to pay future premium due to disability or income loss, the future premiums are waived off , but your policy is still in force like always !

Claim settlement Ratio of Life Insurance Companies

While deciding on a term insurance plan, the biggest point which a person concentrates is the Claim settlement ratio (read this comment) . Claim Settlement ratio of a company tells you that how many policies were settled by paying back the claims in case of death. However note that these numbers are not for pure term plans, but for any kind of policies.

Solvency Ratio of a Life Insurance Company

Another small things to look in a life insurance company is Solvency Ratio. It indicates how solvent a company is, or how prepared it is to meet unforeseen exigencies. It is the extra capital that an insurance company is required to hold to meet all the claims which arise . In other words , Solvency margin refers to the excess amount of asset the insurance company has to maintain over its liabilities. Basically, it is the amount the insurer has to stash away in order to pay the claims during emergency. IRDA requires the insurance companies to maintain a particular level of solvency margin for their smooth functioning
Below is the Table and a Chart showing Claim Settlement Ratio and Solvency Ratio of all the insurance insurance company in India. The data is taken from 2011-2012 IRDA annual Report.

Company Name	Claim Settlement Ratio (2011-12)	Solvency Ratio
LIC	97.4%	1.54
ICICI Prudential	96.5%	3.27
HDFC Life	96.2%	1.72
SBI life	95.5%	2.04
Kotak	92.1%	2.67
Birla Sun Life	90.9%	2.89
Bajaj Allianz	90.6%	2.86
Max NewYork	89.8%	3.65
Aviva	89.6%	5.4
ING Vyasa	88.8%	3
Bharti Axa	87.7%	2.14
Star-Union Dai-ichi	86.2%	6.7
Reliance	84.6%	1.66
Tata Aig	83.9%	2.16
India First	82.2%	6.36
Metlife	81.4%	1.69
Canara HSBC	80.6%	3.07
Sahara Life Insurance	78.0%	4.82
Future Generali	68.1%	2.21
IDBI Fedral	67.5%	6.6
Aegon Religare	66.1%	3.22
DLF Pramerica	24.5%	2.53
Edelweiss Tokio	100% (Just 1 policy)	NA

Online Term Insurance vs Offline Term Insurance

With online term plans coming in market, two things has happened. First, Customers have really got excited seeing very low premiums which insure them at throw away prices, however low premiums does not appear on the top wish list of customers and what everyone needs is very high claim settlement ratio and excellent customer service. This is where online term plans have disappointed customers, there has been huge disappointment from ICICI iCare and Aegon Religare  iTerm Plan in terms of customer service. There have been cases where customers bought the online term plan and after that, they had horrifying experiences starting from increase of premium once they bought it, No-response from the company for long duration and Long & frustrating delays in medical tests. This is what pisses off customers most and they get a feel that If situation is bad at the time of buying the policy, then what will be the response when their families for claim settlement .
Another important point which comes to a persons mind is Are private Insurance companies safe ? and what is the claim settlement ratio of the company. From last year IRDA report, we came to know that Aegon Religare did not settle even a single claim out of total 7-8 claims they got . However, this years IRDA report (2009-2010) shows that its better at 48% settlement ratio for Aegon Religare, but Life Insurance is not a maths exam where 90-91% marks will make people happy. We all need 100% or 99% at least !. Because most of the companies are very new, the trust factor is missing from public. Note that not everyone who bought online term plans had bad experience, there are many buyers who got very good response and good customer service, but it was a smaller section .
So if you a kind of buyer who understand Insurance very well and how things work in this area and you also have trust in online term plans then you can go for online plans. But if you are not comfortable with it, then you should try the old way of buying insurance through an agent. However it would cost more than online term insurance, which many are comfortable with! .
If you concentrate on the claim settlement and trust factor then the only option is LIC of India Term Insurance (Jeevan Amulya). However if you are fine with the pvt Insurance, but still want the best features, I personally see Kotak-preffered Plan as a good option. The premium for Kotak-Preffered is the lowest in the offline term plans and this plan has good riders along with other good options. Term Plan from LIC is obviously the best option if you do not believe in the pvt companies and insist on high claim ratio, but premium for LIC term plan is too high . So I think you can consider a mix of the LIC term insurance and any one from Pvt insurer. Soon you will also see LIC online term plan

Special Features in Some Term Insurance Policies

There are some term plans with very different set of features. Lets have a look at some of the those. These features can help you further in your decision.
SOURCE: JAGOINVESTOR.COM

A handy list of instruments with tax benefits under Section 80 C

by Bindisha Sarang Feb 7, 2013

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Without a doubt income tax matters are one of the most boring tasks you look into every year. But, without a doubt, it’s also one of the most important matters to look into. Your employee provident fund (12 percent of your basic salary) would pretty much take care of a major part of your 80 C deductions. Here’s a quick handy list of a few ways which will help you get deductions under Income Tax Act Section 80 C.

1) Name: Public Provident Fund

Details: You get an 8.8 percent tax-free investment. Lock in period is 15 years and maximum amount Rs 1 lakh per financial year. Read more here.

Tool to save tax. Andrew Middleton/Flickr

How: Open an account at your local post office or nearest branches of State Bank of India or ICICI bank. (ICICI Bank allows online investments)

2) Name: Life insurance premiums

Details: Premium amounts you pay for life insurance policy for self or wife and children. Premium paid on a life insurance policy (other than a contract for a deferred annuity) issued on or before 31 March 2012 will get deduction only to the extent of 20 percent of the actual capital sum assured and those policy issued on or after the 1st day of April 2012 will get deduction only to the extent of 10 percent of the actual capital sum assured. Term plan works best as life insurance.

How: Apply online on insurance company websites or other portals that offer such services. You can also go through an insurance agent.

3) Name: National savings certificate

Details: For a five-year NSC, the return is 8.6 percent and for 10 years 8.9 percent. Interest income every year is taxable. But, as the interest is also reinvested, it becomes part of the overall section 80C contribution.

How: Apply at your local post office.

4) Name: Senior citizen savings scheme (SCSS)

Details: Only open for senior citizens. They offer 9.30 percent as interest. Maximum investment allowed is Rs 15 lakh in a financial year, but only Rs 1 lakh will get benefit under Section 80 C.

How: Approach your local post office or ICICI Bank.

5) Name: Five-year tax savings fixed deposit

Details: Lock-in period five years. No pre-mature withdrawals are permitted. Rate varies from bank to bank. Interest earned is taxed and you won’t get a loan against the FD. Investment limit is Rs 1 lakh.

How: Open an account at any scheduled commercial bank. You can also make online investment via net-banking.

6) Name: Equity-linked savings scheme

Details: This is a mutual fund scheme that gives your money equity exposure and the returns here are market-linked. Keep in mind that this comes with a lock-in period of three years. The dividends you earn are tax-free.

How: You can invest through a financial agent, online mutual fund portals or mutual fund house.

7) Name: Principal repayment of your home loan

Details: Repayment of principal of your home loan gives you a deduction under 80C of up to Rs 1 lakh. Read more here.

Where: Get a statement form your bank mentioning the amount of principal amount you have paid in the financial year.

8) Name: School/college tuition fees

Details: You get deduction under Section 80C for tuition fees paid for your children’s full-time education in India. Read more here.

How: Submit your tuition fee receipts.

9) Name: Pension plans (traditional)

Details: Here you can get a deduction up to Rs 1 lakh for premiums paid for pension plans under Section 80 CCC. But keep in mind total deduction under Section 80 C and 80 CCC should not exceed Rs 1 lakh.

How: Submit application on insurance company website, or though insurance agents or online insurance aggregators.

Take a print out of this list and keep for reference even as you make your investments this tax season.