LS Finance Committee petitioned to alter and amend definition of ‘Sikkimese’ for IT exemption and equal status in Direct Taxes Code Bill, 2010

GANGTOK, 08 Feb: While the Chief Minister and the state government of Sikkim are pursuing the matter of exemption from paying central income tax by the old settlers of the state members of the Old Business Community are pursuing the matter on their own as well. In fact members of this community have been directly petitioning the union government and central ministers for including them as well in the exempted category.
In the latest instance the president, Nagarik Sangarsha Samiti, Prem Goyal has approached the Union Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee and recently has also petitioned Yeshwant Singh, Chairman, Finance Committee of the Lok Sabha. The Chairman of the Lok Sabha Finance Committee as well as the Finance Minister have been approached for income tax exemption “…to persons and their descendents residing in Sikkim before 26 April 1975”. This is a major difference in the approach of the state government as well as the other members of the old business community in the state and that of the Nagarik Sangharsh Samiti.
While the state government has been petitioning the centre for exemption from paying central IT for those left out communities comprising of 400 families who had settled in Sikkim prior to the promulgation of Sikkim Subject Regulation, 1961 Prem Goyal and his Samiti have been seeking not just IT exemption but equal status as well for the left out communities and their descendants who have been residing in the state prior to April, 1975.
In another interesting issue Prem Goyal has also sought correction and amendment in the Direct Taxes Code Bill, 2010. This bill was passed in the year 2010 and is scheduled come into implementation from 2012. It is not just in the Income Tax Act, 1961 as amended in the year 2010 with the insertion of section 26AAA that the income tax exempt categories have been defined by the central government but the same definition is carried in this Code Bill as well which is due to come into implementation soon. In his letter to the Chairman, Finance Commission, Prem Goyal has sought that the definition of the word ‘Sikkimese’ be inserted as  “An individual resident in Sikkim before April 26th 1975 and their descendants”.  Therefore just an amendment in the IT Act and in section 10 of 26AAA is not enough as it will not be complete, he says.
Further in his letter to the Yeshwant Singh and Pranab Mukherjee Prem Goyal states informs of discrimination and division created by creating two categories in the above mentioned Act called Sikkimese and Non Sikkimese. He goes on to state that the “…citizens of India residing in Sikkim prior to the merger are being deprived of their legitimate rights and are being differentiated against and deprived of their social, economical and political rights”.