The Fourth Schedule
PART A
Recognised
Provident Funds
[See sections
2(38), 10(12), 10(25), 36(1)(iv), 87(1)(d),
111, 192(4)]
Application of
Part.
1.This Part shall not apply to any provident
fund to which the Provident Funds Act, 1925 (19 of 1925), applies.
Definitions.
2.In this Part, unless the context otherwise
requires,—
(a) “employer”
means any person who maintains a provident fund for the benefit of his or its
employees, being—
(i) a
Hindu undivided family, company, firm or other association of persons, or
(ii) an
individual engaged in a business or profession the profits and gains whereof
are assessable to income-tax under the head “Profits and gains of business or
profession”;
(b) “employee”
means an employee participating in a provident fund, but does not include a personal
or domestic servant;
(c) “contribution”
means any sum credited by or on behalf of any employee out of his salary, or by
an employer out of his own moneys, to the individual account of an employee,
but does not include any sum credited as interest;
(d) “balance
to the credit of an employee” means the total amount to the credit of his
individual account in a provident fund at any time;
(e) “annual
accretion”, in relation to the balance to the credit of an employee, means the
increase to such balance in any year, arising from contributions and interest;
(f) “accumulated
balance due to an employee” means the balance to his credit, or such portion
thereof as may be claimable by him under the regulations of the fund, on the
day he ceases to be an employee of the employer maintaining the fund;
(g) “regulations
of a fund” means the special body of regulations governing the constitution and
administration of a particular provident fund; and
(h) “salary”
includes dearness allowance, if the terms of employment so provide, but
excludes all other allowances and perquisites.
According and
withdrawal of recognition.
3.(1) The [Chief Commissioner or Commissioner]
may accord recognition to any provident fund which, in his opinion, satisfies
the conditions prescribed in rule 4 and the rules made by the Board in this
behalf, and may, at any time, withdraw such recognition if, in his opinion, the
provident fund contravenes any of those conditions :
[Provided
that in a case where recognition has been accorded to any provident fund on
or before the 31st day of March, 2006 and such provident fund does not satisfy
the conditions set out in clause (ea) of rule 4, the recognition to such fund
shall be withdrawn, if such fund does not satisfy, on or before the 31st day of
March, [2008], the conditions set out in the said
clause and any other condition which the Board may, by rules specify, in this
behalf :]
[Provided further that nothing contained in the first proviso shall
apply to the provident fund of an establishment in respect of which a
notification has been issued by the Central Government under sub-section (2) of
section 16 of the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act,
1952 (19 of 1952).]
(2) An order
according recognition shall take effect on such date as the [Chief Commissioner
or Commissioner] may fix in accordance with any rules the Board may make in
this behalf, such date not being later than the last day of the financial year
in which the order is made.
(3) An order
withdrawing recognition shall take effect from the date on which it is made.
(4) An order
according recognition to a provident fund shall not, unless the [Chief
Commissioner or Commissioner] otherwise directs, be affected by the fact that
the fund is subsequently amalgamated with another provident fund on the
occurrence of an amalgamation of the undertakings in connection with which the
two funds are maintained, or that it subsequently absorbs the whole or a part
of another provident fund belonging to an undertaking which is wholly or in
part transferred to or merged in the undertaking of the employer maintaining
the first-mentioned fund.
Conditions to be
satisfied by recognized provident funds.
4.In order that a provident fund may receive and
retain recognition, it shall, subject to the provisions of rule 5, satisfy the
conditions set out below and any other conditions which the Board may, by
rules, specify—
(a) all
employees shall be employed in India, or shall be employed by an employer whose
principal place of business is in India;
(b) the
contributions of an employee in any year shall be a definite proportion of his
salary for that year, and shall be deducted by the employer from the employee’s
salary in that proportion, at each periodical payment of such salary in that
year, and credited to the employee’s individual account in the fund;
(c) the
contributions of an employer to the individual account of an employee in any
year shall not exceed the amount of the contributions of the employee in
that year, and shall be credited to the employee’s individual account at
intervals not exceeding one year;
(d) the
fund shall be vested in two or more trustees or in the Official Trustee under a
trust which shall not be revocable, save with the consent of all the
beneficiaries;
(e) the
fund shall consist of contributions as above specified, received by the
trustees, of accumulations thereof, and of interest credited in respect of such
contributions and accumulations, and of securities purchased therewith and of
any capital gains arising from the transfer of capital assets of the fund, and
of no other sums;
[(ea) the fund shall be a fund of an establishment to which the
provisions of sub-section (3) of section 1 of the Employees’ Provident Funds
and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 (19 of 1952) apply or of an
establishment which has been notified by the Central Provident Fund
Commissioner under sub-section (4) of section 1 of the said Act, and such
establishment shall obtain exemption under section 17 of the said Act from the
operation of all or any of the provisions of any scheme referred to in that
section;]
(f) the
employer shall not be entitled to recover any sum whatsoever from the fund,
save in cases where the employee is dismissed for misconduct or voluntarily
leaves his employment otherwise than on account of ill-health or other
unavoidable cause before the expiration of the term of service specified in
this behalf in the regulations of the fund :
Provided that in such cases the recoveries made by the employer shall be limited
to the contributions made by him to the individual account of the employee, and
to interest credited in respect of such contributions in accordance with the
regulations of the fund and the accumulations thereof;
(g) the
accumulated balance due to an employee shall be payable on the day he ceases to
be an employee of the employer maintaining the fund;
(h) save
as provided in clause (g) or in accordance with such conditions and
restrictions as the Board may, by rules, specify, no portion of the balance to
the credit of an employee shall be payable to him.
Relaxation of
conditions.
5.(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in
clause (a) of rule 4, the [Chief Commissioner or Commissioner] may, if he
thinks fit and subject to such conditions, if any, as he thinks proper to
attach to the recognition, accord recognition to a fund maintained by an
employer whose principal place of business is not in India, provided the
proportion of employees employed outside India does not exceed ten per cent.
(2)
Notwithstanding anything contained in clause (b) of rule 4, an employee
who retains his employment while serving in the armed forces of the Union or
when taken into or employed in the national service under any law for the time
being in force, may, whether he receives from the employer any salary or not,
contribute to the fund during his service in the armed forces of the Union or
while so taken into or employed in the national service a sum not exceeding the
amount he would have contributed had he continued to serve the employer.
(3)
Notwithstanding anything contained in clause (e) or clause (g) of
rule 4,—
(a) at
the request made in writing by the employee who ceases to be an employee of the
employer maintaining the fund, the trustees of the fund may consent to retain
the whole or any part of the accumulated balance due to the employee to be
drawn by him at any time on demand;
(b) where
the accumulated balance due to an employee who has ceased to be an employee is
retained in the fund in accordance with the preceding clause, the fund may
consist also of interest in respect of such accumulated balance;
[(c) the
fund may also consist of any amount transferred from the individual account of
an employee in any recognised provident fund maintained by his former employer
and the interest in respect thereof.]
(4) Subject
to any rules which the Board may make in this behalf, the [Chief Commissioner
or Commissioner] may, in respect of any particular fund, relax the provisions
of clause (c) of rule 4,—
(a) so
as to permit the payment of larger contributions by an employer to the
individual accounts of employees whose salaries do not in each case exceed five
hundred rupees per mensem; and
(b) so
as to permit the crediting by employers to the individual accounts of employees
of periodical bonuses or other contributions of a contingent nature, where the
calculation and payment of such bonuses or other contributions is provided for
on definite principles by the regulations of the fund.
(5)
Notwithstanding anything contained in clause (h) of rule 4, in order to
enable an employee to pay the amount of tax assessed on his total income as
determined under sub-rule (4) of rule 11, he shall be entitled to withdraw from
the balance to his credit in the recognised provident fund a sum not exceeding
the difference between such amount and the amount to which he would have been
assessed if the transferred balance referred to in sub-rule (2) of rule 11 had
not been included in his total income.
Employer’s annual
contributions, when deemed to be income received by employee.
6.That portion of the annual accretion in any
previous year to the balance at the credit of an employee participating in a
recognised provident fund as consists of—
(a) contributions
made by the employer in excess of [twelve] per cent of the salary of the
employee, and
(b) interest
credited on the balance to the credit of the employee in so far as it [***] is
allowed at a rate exceeding such rate as may be fixed by the Central Government
in this behalf by notification in the Official Gazette,
shall be
deemed to have been received by the employee in that previous year and shall be
included in his total income for that previous year, and shall be liable to
income-tax [***].
[Exemption for employee’s contributions.
7. An employee participating in a recognised
provident fund shall, in respect of his own contributions to his individual
account in the fund in the previous year, be entitled to a deduction in the
computation of his total income of an amount determined in accordance with
[section 80C].]
Exclusion from
total income of accumulated balance.
8.The accumulated balance due and becoming
payable to an employee participating in a recognised provident fund shall be
excluded from the computation of his total income—
(i) if
he has rendered continuous service with his employer for a period of five years
or more, or
(ii) if,
though he has not rendered such continuous service, the service has been
terminated by reason of the employee’s ill-health, or by the contraction or
discontinuance of the employer’s business or other cause beyond the control of
the employee, [or]
[(iii) if, on the cessation of his employment, the
employee obtains employment with any other employer, to the extent the
accumulated balance due and becoming payable to him is transferred to his
individual account in any recognised provident fund maintained by such other
employer.
Explanation.—Where the accumulated balance due and
becoming payable to an employee participating in a recognised provident fund
maintained by his employer includes any amount transferred from his individual
account in any other recognised provident fund or funds maintained by his
former employer or employers, then, in computing the period of continuous
service for the purposes of clause (i) or clause (ii) the period
or periods for which such employee rendered continuous service under his former
employer or employers aforesaid shall be included.]
Tax on accumulated
balance.
9.(1) Where the accumulated balance due to an
employee participating in a recognised provident fund is included in his total
income owing to the provi-sions of rule 8 not being applicable, the [Assessing]
Officer shall calculate the total of the various sums of [tax] which would have
been payable by the emp-loyee in respect of his total income for each of the
years concerned if the fund had not been a recognised provident fund, and the
amount by which such total exceeds the total of all sums paid by or on behalf
of such employee by way of tax for such years shall be payable by the employee
in addition to any other [tax] for which he may be liable for the previous year
in which the accumulated balance due to him becomes payable.
(2) Where
the accumulated balance due to an employee participating in a recognised
provident fund which is not included in his total income under the provisions
of rule 8 becomes payable, an amount equal to the aggregate of the amounts of
super-tax on annual accretions that would have been payable under section 58E
of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922 (11 of 1922), for any assessment year up to
and including the assessment year 1932-33, if the Indian Income-tax (Second
Amendment) Act, 1933 (18 of 1933), had come into force on the 15th day of
March, 1930, shall be payable by the employee in addition to any other tax
payable by him for the previous year in which such balance becomes payable.
Deduction at
source of tax payable on accumulated balance.
10.The trustees of a recognised provident fund,
or any person authorised by the regulations of the fund to make payment of
accumulated balances due to employees, shall, in cases where sub-rule (1) of
rule 9 applies, at the time an accumulated balance due to an employee is paid,
deduct therefrom the amount payable under that rule and all the provisions of
Chapter XVII-B shall apply as if the accumulated balance were income chargeable
under the head “Salaries”.
Treatment of
balance in newly recognised provident fund.
11.(1) Where recognition is accorded to a
provident fund with existing balances, an account shall be made of the fund up
to the day immediately preceding the day on which the recognition takes effect,
showing the balance to the credit of each employee on such day, and containing
such further particulars as the Board may prescribe.
(2) The
account shall also show in respect of the balance to the credit of each
employee the amount thereof which is to be transferred to that employee’s
account in the recognised provident fund, and such amount (hereinafter called
his transferred balance) shall be shown as the balance to his credit in the
recognised provident fund on the date on which the recognition of the fund
takes effect, and sub-rule (4) of this rule and sub-rule (5) of rule 5 shall
apply thereto.
(3) Any
portion of the balance to the credit of an employee in the existing fund which
is not transferred to the recognised fund shall be excluded from the accounts
of the recognised fund and shall be liable to income-tax [***] in accordance
with the provisions of this Act, other than this Part.
(4) Subject
to such rules as the Board may make in this behalf, the [Assessing] Officer
shall make a calculation of the aggregate of all sums comprised in a
transferred balance which would have been liable to income-tax if this Part had
been in force from the date of the institution of the fund, without regard to
any tax which may have been paid on any sum, and such aggregate (if any) shall
be deemed to be income received by the employee in the previous year in which
the recognition of the fund takes effect and shall be included in the
employee’s total income for that previous year, and, for the purposes of
assessment, the remainder of the transferred balance shall be disregarded, but
no other exemption or relief, by way of refund or otherwise, shall be granted
in respect of any sum comprised in such transferred balance :
Provided that, in cases of serious accounting
difficulty, the [Chief Commissioner or Commissioner] may, subject to the said
rules, make a summary calculation of such aggregate.
(5) Nothing
in this rule shall affect the rights of the persons administering an
unrecognised provident fund or dealing with it, or with the balance to the
credit of any individual employee before recognition is accorded, in any manner
which may be lawful.
Accounts of
recognized provident funds.
12.(1) The accounts of a recognised provident
fund shall be maintained by the trustees of the fund and shall be in such form
and for such periods, and shall contain such particulars, as the Board may
prescribe.
(2) The
accounts shall be open to inspection at all reasonable times by income-tax
authorities, and the trustees shall furnish to the [Assessing] Officer such
abstracts thereof as the Board may prescribe.
Appeals.
13.(1) An employer objecting to an order of the
[Chief Commissioner or Commissioner] refusing to recognise or an order
withdrawing recognition from a provident fund may appeal, within sixty days of
such order, to the Board.
(2) The
appeal shall be in such form and shall be verified in such manner and shall be
subject to the payment of such fee as the Board may prescribe.
Treatment of fund
transferred by employer to trustee.
14.(1) Where an employer, who maintains a
provident fund (whether recog-nised or not) for the benefit of his employees
and has not transferred the fund or any portion of it, transfers such fund or
portion to trustees in trust for the employees participating in the fund, the
amount so transferred shall be deemed to be of the nature of capital
expenditure.
(2) When an
employee participating in such fund is paid the accumulated balance due to him
therefrom, any portion of such balance as represents his share in the amount so
transferred to the trustees (without addition of interest, and exclusive of the
employee’s contributions and interest thereon) shall, if the employer has made
effective arrangements to secure that tax shall be deducted at source from the
amount of such share when paid to the employee, be deemed to be an expenditure
by the employer within the meaning of section 37, incurred in the previous year
in which the accumulated balance due to the employee is paid.
Provisions
relating to rules.
15.(1) In addition to any power conferred by this
Part, the Board may make rules—
(a) prescribing
the statements and other information to be submitted along with an application
for recognition;
(b) limiting
the contributions to a recognised provident fund by employees of a company who
are shareholders in the company;
[(bb) regulating the investment or deposit of the
moneys of a recognised provident fund :
Provided that no rule made under this clause shall require the investment of
more than fifty per cent of the moneys of such fund in Government securities as
defined in section 2 of the Public Debt Act, 1944 (18 of 1944);]
(c) providing
for the assessment by way of penalty of any consideration received by an
employee for an assignment of, or creation of a charge upon, his beneficial
interest in a recognised provident fund;
(d) determining
the extent to and the manner in which exemption from payment of [tax] may be
granted in respect of contributions and interest credited to the individual
accounts of employees in a provident fund from which recognition has been
withdrawn; and
(e) generally,
to carry out the purposes of this Part and to secure such further control over
the recognition of provident funds and the administration of recognised
provident funds as it may deem requisite.
(2) All
rules made under this Part shall be subject to the provisions of section 296.
Part B
Approved
superannuation funds
[See sections
2(6), 10(13), 10(25)(iii), 36(1)(iv), 87(1)(e),
192(5), [206]]
Definitions.
1.In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires,
“employer”, “employee”, “contribution” and “salary” have, in relation to
superannuation funds, the meanings assigned to those expressions in rule 2 of
Part A in relation to provident funds.
Approval and
withdrawal of approval.
2.(1) The [Chief Commissioner or Commissioner]
may accord approval to any superannuation fund or any part of a superannuation
fund which, in his opinion, complies with the requirements of rule 3, and may
at any time withdraw such approval, if, in his opinion, the circumstances of
the fund or part cease to warrant the continuance of the approval.
(2) The
[Chief Commissioner or Commissioner] shall communicate in writing to the
trustees of the fund the grant of approval with the date on which the approval
is to take effect, and, where the approval is granted subject to conditions,
those conditions.
(3) The
[Chief Commissioner or Commissioner] shall communicate in writing to the
trustees of the fund any withdrawal of approval with the reasons for such
withdrawal and the date on which the withdrawal is to take effect.
(4) The
[Chief Commissioner or Commissioner] shall neither refuse nor withdraw approval
to any superannuation fund or any part of a superannuation fund unless he has
given the trustees of that fund a reasonable opportunity of being heard in the
matter.
Conditions for
approval.
3.In order that a superannuation fund may
receive and retain approval, it shall satisfy the conditions set out below and
any other conditions which the Board may, by rules, prescribe—
(a) the
fund shall be a fund established under an irrevocable trust in connection with
a trade or undertaking carried on in India, and not less than ninety per cent
of the employees shall be employed in India;
(b) the
fund shall have for its sole purpose the provision of annuities for employees
in the trade or undertaking on their retirement at or after a specified age or
on their becoming incapacitated prior to such retirement, or for the widows,
children or dependants of persons who are or have been such employees on the
death of those persons ;
(c) the
employer in the trade or undertaking shall be a contributor to the fund ; and
(d) all
annuities, pensions and other benefits granted from the fund shall be payable
only in India.
Application for
approval.
4. (1) An application for approval of a
superannuation fund or part of a superannuation fund shall be made in writing
by the trustees of the fund to the [Assessing] Officer by whom the employer is
assessable, and shall be accompanied by a copy of the instrument under which
the fund is established and by two copies of the rules [and, where the fund has
been in existence during any year or years prior to the financial year in which
the application for approval is made, also two copies of the accounts of the fund
relating to such prior year or years (not being more than three years
immediately preceding the year in which the said application is made)] for
which such accounts have been made up, but the [Chief Commissioner or
Commissioner] may require such further information to be supplied as he thinks
proper.
(2) If any
alteration in the rules, constitution, objects or conditions of the fund is
made at any time after the date of the application for approval, the trustees
of the fund shall forthwith communicate such alteration to the Assessing]
Officer mentioned in sub-rule (1), and in default of such communication any
approval given shall, unless the [Chief Commissioner or Commissioner] otherwise
orders, be deemed to have been withdrawn from the date on which the alteration
took effect.
Contributions by
employer when deemed to be income of employer.
5.Where any contributions by an employer
(including the interest thereon, if any) are repaid to the employer, the amount
so repaid shall be deemed for the purpose of income-tax [***] to be the income
of the employer of the previous year in which it is so repaid.
Deduction of tax
on contributions paid to an employee.
6.Where any contributions made by an employer,
including interest on contributions, if any, are paid to an employee during his
lifetime [in circumstances other than those referred to in clause (13)
of section 10], [tax] on the amounts so paid shall be deducted at the average
rate of [tax] at which the employee was liable to [tax] during the preceding
three years or during the period, if less than three years, when he was a
member of the fund, and shall be paid by the trustees to the credit of the
Central Government within the prescribed time and in such manner as the Board
may direct.
Deduction from pay
of and contributions on behalf of employee to be included in return.
7.Where an employer deducts from the emoluments
paid to an employee or pays on his behalf any contributions of that employee to
an approved superannuation fund, he shall include all such deductions or
payments in the return which he is required to furnish under [***] section 206.
Appeals.
8.(1) An employer objecting to an order of the
[Chief Commissioner or Commissioner] refusing to accord approval to a
superannuation fund or an order withdrawing such approval may appeal, within
sixty days of such order, to the Board.
(2) The
appeal shall be in such form and shall be verified in such manner and shall be
subject to the payment of such fee as may be prescribed.
Liability of
trustees on cessation of approval.
9.If a fund or a part of a fund for any reason
ceases to be an approved superannuation fund, the trustees of the fund shall
nevertheless remain liable to tax on any sum paid on account of returned
contributions (including interest on contributions, if any), in so far as the
sum so paid is in respect of contributions made before the fund or part of the
fund ceased to be an approved superannuation fund under the provisions of this
Part.
Particulars to be
furnished in respect of superannuation funds.
10.The trustees of an approved superannuation
fund and any employer who contributes to an approved superannuation fund shall,
when required by notice from the [Assessing] Officer, within such period, not
being less than twenty-one days from the date of the notice, as may be
specified in the notice, furnish such return, statement, particulars or
information, as the [Assessing] Officer may require.
Provisions
relating to rules.
11.(1) In addition to any power conferred by this
Part, the Board may make rules—
(a) prescribing
the statements and other information to be submitted along with an application
for approval ;
(b) prescribing
the returns, statements, particulars, or information which the [Assessing]
Officer may require from the trustees of an approved superannuation fund or
from the employer ;
(c) limiting
the ordinary annual contribution and any other contributions to an approved
superannuation fund by an employer ;
[(cc) regulating the investment or deposit of the
moneys of an approved superannuation fund :
Provided that no rule made under this clause shall require the investment of
more than fifty per cent of the moneys of such fund in Government securities as
defined in section 2 of the Public Debt Act, 1944 (18 of 1944) ;]
(d) providing
for the assessment by way of penalty of any consideration received by an
employee for an assignment of, or creation of a charge upon, his beneficial
interest in an approved superannuation fund ;
(e) determining
the extent to, and the manner in, which exemption from payment of [tax] may be
granted in respect of any payment made from a superannuation fund from which
approval has been withdrawn ;
(f) providing
for the withdrawal of approval in the case of a fund which ceases to satisfy
the requirements of this Part or of the rules made thereunder ; and
(g) generally,
to carry out the purposes of this Part and to secure such further control over
the approval of the superannuation funds and the administration of approved
superannuation funds as it may deem requisite.
(2) All
rules made under this Part shall be subject to the provisions of section 296.
Part C
Approved
gratuity funds
[See sections
2(5), [10(25)(iv),] 17(1)(iii), 36(1)(v)]
Definitions.
1.In this Part, unless the context otherwise
requires “employer”, “employee”, “contribution” and “salary” have, in relation
to gratuity funds, the meanings assigned to those expressions in rule 2 of Part
A in relation to provident funds.
Approval and withdrawal of approval.
2.(1) The [Chief Commissioner or Commissioner]
may accord approval to any gratuity fund which, in his opinion, complies with
the requirements of rule 3 and may at any time withdraw such approval if, in
his opinion, the circum-stances of the fund cease to warrant the continuance of
the approval.
(2) The
[Chief Commissioner or Commissioner] shall communicate in writing to the
trustees of the fund the grant of approval with the date on which the approval
is to take effect and where the approval is granted subject to conditions,
those conditions.
(3) The
[Chief Commissioner or Commissioner] shall communicate in writing to the
trustees of the fund any withdrawal of approval with the reasons for such
withdrawal and the date on which the withdrawal is to take effect.
(4) The
[Chief Commissioner or Commissioner] shall neither refuse nor withdraw approval
to any gratuity fund unless he has given the trustees of that fund a reasonable
opportunity of being heard in the matter.
Conditions for
approval.
3.In order that a gratuity fund may receive and
retain approval, it shall satisfy the conditions set out below and any other
conditions which the Board may, by rules, prescribe—
(a) the
fund shall be a fund established under an irrevocable trust in connection with
a trade or undertaking carried on in India, and not less than ninety per cent
of the employees shall be employed in India ;
(b) the
fund shall have for its sole purpose the provision of a gratuity to employees
in the trade or undertaking on their retirement at or after a specified age or
on their becoming incapacitated prior to such retirement or on termination of
their employment after a minimum period of service specified in the rules of
the fund or to the widows, children or dependants of such employees on their
death ;
(c) the
employer in the trade or undertaking shall be a contributor to the fund ; and
(d) all
benefits granted by the fund shall be payable only in India.
Application for
approval.
4.(1) An application for approval of a gratuity
fund shall be made in writing by the trustees of the fund to the [Assessing]
Officer by whom the employer is assessable and shall be accompanied by a copy
of the instrument under which the fund is established and by two copies of the
rules [and, where the fund has been in existence during any year or years prior
to the financial year in which the application for approval is made, also two
copies of the accounts of the fund relating to such prior year or years (not
being more than three years immediately preceding the year in which the said
application is made)] for which such accounts have been made up, but the [Chief
Commissioner or Commissioner] may require such further information to be
supplied as he thinks proper.
(2) If any
alteration in the rules, constitution, objects or conditions of the fund is
made at any time after the date of the application for approval, the trustees
of the fund shall forthwith communicate such alterations to the [Assessing]
Officer mentioned in sub-rule (1), and in default of such communication, any
approval given shall, unless the [Chief Commissioner or Commissioner] otherwise
orders, be deemed to have been withdrawn from the date on which the alteration
took effect.
Gratuity deemed to
be salary.
5.Where any gratuity is paid to an employee
during his lifetime, the gratuity shall be treated as salary paid to the
employee for the purposes of this Act.
Liability of
trustees on cessation of approval.
6.If a gratuity fund for any reason ceases to be
an approved gratuity fund, the trustees of the fund shall nevertheless remain
liable to tax on any gratuity paid to any employee.
Contributions by
employer, when deemed to be income of employer.
7.Where any contributions by an employer (including
the interest thereon, if any) are repaid to the employer, the amount so repaid
shall be deemed for the purposes of income-tax [***] to be the income of the
employer of the previous year in which they are so repaid.
Appeals.
8.(1) An employer objecting to an order of the
[Chief Commissioner or Commissioner] refusing to accord approval to a gratuity
fund or an order withdrawing such approval may appeal, within sixty days of
such order, to the Board.
(2) The
appeal shall be in such form and shall be verified in such manner and shall be
subject to the payment of such fee as may be prescribed.
[Particulars
to be furnished in respect of gratuity funds.
8A.The trustees of an approved gratuity fund and
any employer who contributes to an approved gratuity fund shall, when required
by notice from the [Assessing] Officer, furnish within such period, not being
less than twenty-one days from the date of the notice, as may be specified in
the notice, such return, statement, particulars or information, as the [Assessing]
Officer may require.]
Provisions
relating to rules.
9.(1) In addition to any power conferred in this
Part, the Board may make rules—
(a) prescribing
the statements and other information to be submitted along with an application
for approval ;
(b) limiting
the ordinary annual and other contributions of an employer to the fund ;
[(bb) regulating the investment or deposit of the
moneys of an approved gratuity fund :
Provided that no rule made under this
clause shall require the investment of more than fifty per cent of the moneys
of such fund in Government securities as defined in section 2 of the Public
Debt Act, 1944 (18 of 1944) ;]
(c) providing
for the assessment by way of penalty of any consideration received by an
employee for an assignment of, or the creation of a charge upon, his beneficial
interest in an approved gratuity fund ;
(d) providing
for the withdrawal of the approval in the case of a fund which ceases to
satisfy the requirements of this Part or the rules made thereunder ; and
(e) generally,
to carry out the purposes of this Part and to secure such further control over
the approval of gratuity funds and the administration of gratuity funds as it
may deem requisite.
(2) All
rules made under this Part shall be subject to the provisions of section 296.