Wed, Sep 3, 2014 at 11:39 AM
The Territorial Jurisdiction in Cheque Bouncing Case
CICU Demands Filing Review Petition or Bringing Amendment In Parliament
Ludhiana: 3 September 2014: (Punjab Screen Bureau):
In the special Executive Committee Meeting held yesterday main issues facing MSME sector were deliberated. Sh. Avtar Singh President in a statement released today said that the Three Judge Bench Judgment of Hon’ble Supreme Court decided on August 01, 2014 in Dashrath Rupsingh Rathod Vs. State of Maharashtra held that a Complaint of Dis-honour of Cheque can be filed only to the Court within whose local jurisdiction the offence was committed, which is where the cheque is dishonoured by the bank on which it is drawn. This judgment has overruled the two Judge Bench Judgment in K. Bhaskaran v. Sankaran Vaidhyan Balan (1999) where in the complainant can choose any one of those courts having jurisdiction over any one of the local areas within the territorial limits of which any one of the five acts was done. Following are the acts which were components of the said offence: (1) Drawing of the cheque, (2) Presentation of the cheque to the bank, (3) Returning the cheque unpaid by the drawee bank, (4) Giving notice in writing to the drawer of the cheque demanding payment of the cheque amount, (5) failure of the drawer to make payment within 15 days of the receipt of the notice.
Due to non-payment of funds, the supplier of goods and services has to face financial crunch in this highly competitive market. The magnitude of the impact of the present decision is likely to cause considerable hardship on the respondent who may have to travel long distances in conducting their defense at far of places where the cheque is dishonored.
Sh. Upakr Singh General Secretary said that retrospective power tariff hike was unheard of in electricity circles and why consumers should pay for it retrospectively. This move is a clear signal that PSERC was not an autonomous body and did not take decisions on rational and commercial grounds. Differential hike on the principals of consume more to pay less is highly unjustified. It reveals that PSERC does not understand the basic economic criteria of essential and deficient commodities.
Interestingly, the subsidy bill has come down from Rs. 4778.13 crore in the last financial year to Rs. 4454.54 crore for the current fiscal where as the tariff is hiked by 7% for agricultural sector which is not charged from consumers as the Government pay for it to PSPCL in the shape of subsidy. This was the time when the industry was expecting help from the Government but we have been burdened with more tariff. The Government should have provided subsidy to the industry instead of levying KVAH on industry.
He further informed that inordinate delay in releasing Vat refund timely should be resolved by addressing following issues amicably.
* Input Tax credit is now restricted to two stages, which is not possible to comply with properly by the small scale units/traders.
* The VAT Refund through RTGS is being paid after one month of the receipt of its voucher.
* The information Centers at the Borders should be directed to expedite clearance of the Trucks / Goods and the Excise staff should not harass and delay the clearance of the merchandise, due to Slowdown/un-operation of Server. Locking of code for VAT dealers has become a common practice due to late submission of return. The unlocking of code is a cumbersome process, which takes 24 hours. This practice should be stopped.
* The newly introduced filing of VAT-15 in light of amended section 13(1) of Punjab Value Added Tax Act-2005 should be withdrawn immediately as it is not possible to comply with its provisions by small scale units. The earlier procedure should be re introduced.
Both of them have appealed and urged upon Sh. Narinder Modi Hon’ble Prime Minister of India and Sh. Ravi Shankar Prasad Hon’ble Minister of Law & Justice Govt. of India for filing review petition or brining amendment in parliament regarding the territorial jurisdiction in cheque bouncing case to save the respondents from hardships.
They have also requested Sh. Parkash Singh Badal Hob’ble Chief Minister Punjab to resolve power tariff and vat refund woes amicably, which will go a long way in taking our Industry into a new orbit of development and growth.
The Territorial Jurisdiction in Cheque Bouncing Case
CICU Demands Filing Review Petition or Bringing Amendment In Parliament
Ludhiana: 3 September 2014: (Punjab Screen Bureau):
In the special Executive Committee Meeting held yesterday main issues facing MSME sector were deliberated. Sh. Avtar Singh President in a statement released today said that the Three Judge Bench Judgment of Hon’ble Supreme Court decided on August 01, 2014 in Dashrath Rupsingh Rathod Vs. State of Maharashtra held that a Complaint of Dis-honour of Cheque can be filed only to the Court within whose local jurisdiction the offence was committed, which is where the cheque is dishonoured by the bank on which it is drawn. This judgment has overruled the two Judge Bench Judgment in K. Bhaskaran v. Sankaran Vaidhyan Balan (1999) where in the complainant can choose any one of those courts having jurisdiction over any one of the local areas within the territorial limits of which any one of the five acts was done. Following are the acts which were components of the said offence: (1) Drawing of the cheque, (2) Presentation of the cheque to the bank, (3) Returning the cheque unpaid by the drawee bank, (4) Giving notice in writing to the drawer of the cheque demanding payment of the cheque amount, (5) failure of the drawer to make payment within 15 days of the receipt of the notice.
Due to non-payment of funds, the supplier of goods and services has to face financial crunch in this highly competitive market. The magnitude of the impact of the present decision is likely to cause considerable hardship on the respondent who may have to travel long distances in conducting their defense at far of places where the cheque is dishonored.
Sh. Upakr Singh General Secretary said that retrospective power tariff hike was unheard of in electricity circles and why consumers should pay for it retrospectively. This move is a clear signal that PSERC was not an autonomous body and did not take decisions on rational and commercial grounds. Differential hike on the principals of consume more to pay less is highly unjustified. It reveals that PSERC does not understand the basic economic criteria of essential and deficient commodities.
Interestingly, the subsidy bill has come down from Rs. 4778.13 crore in the last financial year to Rs. 4454.54 crore for the current fiscal where as the tariff is hiked by 7% for agricultural sector which is not charged from consumers as the Government pay for it to PSPCL in the shape of subsidy. This was the time when the industry was expecting help from the Government but we have been burdened with more tariff. The Government should have provided subsidy to the industry instead of levying KVAH on industry.
He further informed that inordinate delay in releasing Vat refund timely should be resolved by addressing following issues amicably.
* Input Tax credit is now restricted to two stages, which is not possible to comply with properly by the small scale units/traders.
* The VAT Refund through RTGS is being paid after one month of the receipt of its voucher.
* The information Centers at the Borders should be directed to expedite clearance of the Trucks / Goods and the Excise staff should not harass and delay the clearance of the merchandise, due to Slowdown/un-operation of Server. Locking of code for VAT dealers has become a common practice due to late submission of return. The unlocking of code is a cumbersome process, which takes 24 hours. This practice should be stopped.
* The newly introduced filing of VAT-15 in light of amended section 13(1) of Punjab Value Added Tax Act-2005 should be withdrawn immediately as it is not possible to comply with its provisions by small scale units. The earlier procedure should be re introduced.
Both of them have appealed and urged upon Sh. Narinder Modi Hon’ble Prime Minister of India and Sh. Ravi Shankar Prasad Hon’ble Minister of Law & Justice Govt. of India for filing review petition or brining amendment in parliament regarding the territorial jurisdiction in cheque bouncing case to save the respondents from hardships.
They have also requested Sh. Parkash Singh Badal Hob’ble Chief Minister Punjab to resolve power tariff and vat refund woes amicably, which will go a long way in taking our Industry into a new orbit of development and growth.
