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Finance

TDS: Problems and Solutions

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This article explains the implications of FORM 26AS of the INCOME TAX ACT 1961 for NGOs. A case helps to make the theory clear and practical.

Introduction

In this article we discuss the administration of TDS transactions and how to resolve difficulties faced by NGOs.

Tax Deduction at Source (TDS) is an important segment of the Income Tax Act 1961 (ITA) and the detailed provisions are found in Sections 190 to 206CA. According to these sections, an NGO which makes certain payments, such as, salary, contractors’ bills, professional fees, commission to agents, interest, winnings and prizes, rent, etc., are obliged to deduct tax at source, under certain conditions, before releasing the payments. The tax has to be deposited with the Income Tax Department (ITD) within the prescribed time. The NGO is required to furnish quarterly TDS returns in the prescribed forms and within the prescribed time and to issue a certificate in Form 16 or 16A to the person from whom tax has been deducted at source.

Keeping track of all the TDS transactions and the procedures, mentioned above, can be laborious. Thanks to computerization, the administration of TDS transactions can be done now with greater ease and accuracy.

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Fr Trevor D’Souza OFM

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Cover Story

Heroic Sisters of 1918

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The New York Times celebrates the extraordinary service of Catholic Sisters during the terrible “Spanish Flu” of 1918.

On March 20, 2020, The New York Times published an article with this title: “We Should All Be More Like the Nuns of 1918.” The caption reads: “The sisters of Philadelphia were lifesavers during the Spanish flu epidemic. They are an inspiration today.”

What did Catholic nuns do in 1918 that inspires people even today?

The author, a writer and journalist called Kiley Bense, was researching her grandmother’s childhood in Philadelphia. Her grandmother, born in 1917, survived the “Spanish Flu,” the terrible pandemic which hit many countries between 1918 and 1920. It was far more devastating than the current COVID-19. It came towards the end of World War I, multiplying the suffering of people who had already suffered and lost much during the War. The number of victims was incredibly high: About fifty million deaths worldwide! To give you an idea of what that number means, it was thirty-four million more than those killed in World War I.

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Fr Joe Mannath SDB

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Cover Story

SERVICE BEFORE SELF, COMPASSION BEFORE COMFORT

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Inspiring Outreach during COVID-19 and the Lockdown

This is something human beings know almost instinctively: Hardships sort out the wheat from the chaff. When the going is easy, we will have many so-called “friends.” When the going is tough—poverty, illness, court cases, false accusations—we realize who really cares and stands by us.

I wrote to the Major Superiors of Religious of India to send us a short report on what their provinces or houses were doing for those affected by the present emergency. We received 713 reports in reply. I passed the summary on to Caritas, the funding arm of the CBCI, which was asked by the Prime Minister’s office what the Catholic church was doing.

I am more than edified by the reports.

Then I found that religious in India are doing more, far more, than what the short reports said.

That’s the way, Sisters, Brothers, Fathers! We, religious—and the Church in general—are at our best when the challenges are toughest and others dare not step in. The heroic nuns of Philadelphia (See Cover Story 3) are just one example of this.

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Fr Joe Mannath SDB

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Cover Story

COVID-19: A REALISTIC LOOK

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The numbers change every day. For every city, every state, every country, for the world. With the current levels of instant information—and some misinformation—any of us can access the latest figures, and do it any time of the day or night.

The medical facts are pretty well known. A virus, not bacterial. Hence, antibiotics will not work. No known vaccine or medicine as of today. The only way to be safe is prevention.

Hence the strict lockdown, the social distancing, the frequent hand-washing, the use of masks and gloves, and separate seating, plates and utensils even within religious communities. Hence the acceptance of isolating those with fever, cold and cough, and quarantine for those coming from elsewhere.

Some have said this is the worst pandemic in human history. It is not. Nor is the number of deaths from COVID-19 (hyphenated word) comparable to some of the far worse tragedies humanity has faced.

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Fr Joe Mannath SDB

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Psychology & Life

Everyday Spirituality(2) – DUALISM’S INFLUENCE ON SPIRITUALITY

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In 1962, Thomas Kuhn, a social scientist at the University of Chicago, wrote a book entitled The Structure of Scientific Revolutions that soon became a classic in social sciences. That book introduced the concept of Paradigms, paradigm shifts and resistance to paradigm shifts.

Twenty years later, the physicist Fritjof Capra wrote a book called The Turning Point, in which he tried to explain Kuhn’s concepts in a lay person’s language. Capra focused on two paradigms. One, the Dualistic which influenced thought and behaviour for thousands of years, to which was added the mechanistic understanding in the Modern Era to form the Dualistic-Mechanistic paradigm. The paradigm that has emerged recently is the holistic to which is added the ecological to form the Holistic-Ecological paradigm.

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Fr Jose Parappully SDB

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Couples Speak

MISSING THE SACRAMENTS – AND FINDING NEW WAYS

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KEVIN

Many of us would have to admit that to a greater or lesser extent we are creatures of habit. At different times in our lives, a predictable pattern seems to set in, one day to the next, month to month, year to year. Some of us may find comfort in the consistency of those rhythms of life and seek to maintain them.  At other times, particularly times such as Lent, we seek to disrupt the normal pattern of our daily lives in order to grow in holiness.  If you are like me, it really takes sustained energy and attention to make any change to the familiar patterns and behaviors that have been such a big part of who I have become.  Most of us don’t do change well. We really don’t like disruption to our accustomed lifestyle and we tend to resist it as best we can—that is, until we are faced with a situation where we are forced to adapt and change. We usually call such times a crisis.

New Situation, New Answers

At these times we come to realize that there are forces beyond our control that clearly and dramatically signal to us that the life we have been living has been changed in meaningful ways. When we come face to face with such life-altering times, like the recent/current pandemic, we are naturally inclined to give in to our human nature and judge ourselves as endangered and accursed.  We are not only inconvenienced, …

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Crystal and Kevin Sullivan

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Cover Story

Aging Gracefully

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Margaret was nearing death. Old and frail, her health devastated by age and cancer, she knew she had very little time left.

And she was alone, helped by a few kind-hearted neighbours.

 I called on her one day. During our conversation, I happened to mention Sr Ernestine, who was in charge of reaching out to the sick and shut-ins in the parish. I knew Sr Ernestine well, since we were part of the parish staff. She herself was getting on in years, and  was not in the best of health. But I never heard her complain about her own health, or see her go around with a long face.

When I mentioned her to Margaret, the sick woman’s face lit up. She responded with one of the most beautiful comments I have heard anyone make about a person. She said, “When Sr Ernestine enters a room, she lights it up!”

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Fr Joe Mannath SDB

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Couples Speak

Aches and Pains (and Cancer), but Never Happier!

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CRYSTAL

As we walked into our local church for daily mass recently, Kevin and I were greeted by an elderly parishioner who shared the news that he had just been diagnosed with a cancer that left him few treatment options and a diagnosis that he might live for only about six more months. While sympathetic to the shock and worry he shared, it also led Kevin and me to consider how we ourselves would respond if we were given the knowledge that we only had a short time remaining on earth. Perhaps it is the fact that it was not really our diagnosis, but we both strongly believed that our reaction would (eventually) be one of gratefulness for the time we have had together and the many blessings that have come our way over our lifetimes. As we shared our feelings on this, we realized that we have both become aware that old age in itself is not the ultimate desire for either one of us.

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Crystal and Kevin Sullivan

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Uncategorized

CORONAVIRUS: A CHRISTIAN RESPONSE

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As far as the current Coronavirus pandemic is concerned, we need to create awareness about what we need to do, and why. At the same time, we might actually need to have disincentives like, just make it a criminal offence for people to meet that in many numbers. At least out of fear people will stop doing that. We need to take the government regulations seriously and medical recommendations on hygiene (e.g., hand-washing) seriously.

Understanding the Virus
There are three qualities that decide how bad the disease is going to be. They are,

  1. The Mode of Spread: Any disease that spreads through respiratory secretions always tends to spread faster. The virus is there in the cough and the sneeze, and it is extremely difficult to have one hundred per cent hand hygiene or cough etiquette.
  2. The Infectiousness: There is something called R0 (basic reproductive rate) which decides how infectious each virus is going to be. Technically, this number means that during the disease period, in any patient, how many other people will this patient infect. Now, that is the infectiousness of the virus. The infection rate of Coronavirus is high. And that is the reason why this entire concept of social distancing and avoid physical touch.
  3. The Mortality rate: This means the percentage of affected people who die. The case fatality rate has changed from country to country. Most of those who contract Coronavirus get a mild form of the disease and get well, but a small percent die.

Our Response
How do we, as disciples of Jesus, respond to this situation?

  1. The Word: The Prophets and many of the Psalms speak to people who are caught up in mass hysteria or subject to pandemics. We may need the current cultural moment precisely the hermeneutic to read the Old Testament, which can otherwise feel so foreign, deeply for the first time.
  2. Our Real Faith: Times of public panic force us to align our professed belief with our actual belief. We all say that we believe, God is sovereign and he is taking care of us. But we reveal our true trust when the world goes into meltdown. What is really our heart’s deepest loyalty? The answer is forced to the surface in times of public alarm, such as we are wading into now.
  3. Reaching out in Love: When the economy is tanking, opportunities come up to surprise our neighbours with our confidence and joy. Now, is the time to be more outgoing, to be loving more, to be hospitable more. Love stands out strongest when it is least expected, rarest, but needed most.
  4. Indomitable Providence: No infected molecule can enter our lungs, unless sent by the hand of a heavenly Father. The Christian faith defines God’s providence. All things come to us not by chance but by His father love and care. Like an inhaler, hope in God’s providence, calms us down, allows us to breathe again.
  5. Heart of Jesus: In times of turmoil, in seasons of distress, Jesus is more feelingly with his people than ever. Jesus experienced all the horror of this world that we do. We can go to him. We can sit with him. His arm is around us, stronger than ever, right now as we go through strange days, days of fear, days of panic. His passion and His death are larger than ours. His Sacred Heart is loving and longing for each one us to quench our thirsts.
  6. Heavenly Assurance: The cautions are wise. Our bodies are mortal, vulnerable. But our souls, for those united to the risen Christ, are beyond the reach of all eternal danger. How blessed we are, who are in Christ. Be at peace in Christ. All is assured in His unconditional love.

Fr John Singarayar SVD

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Uncategorized

Cruelty, Compassion, Committed Action

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How do we respond when atrocities are committed against another community?
Here is an inspiring example.

You will have read about the violence that erupted in a part of North East Delhi in February. It seemed to have been a planned attack on the Moslem community. Houses and shops were attacked and burnt. We should not call such attacks “riots,” which word can make it look as if two or more groups are fighting with each other. This was not the case. One particular community was targeted.

Such things have happened before. What we want to highlight is the exemplary response of the local Catholic Community, especially of a number of Sisters, who moved in, visited the families and the camp, organized medical help, counselled women and children.

To illustrate the kind of trauma people went through, here is just one case, narrated by Sr Anitha Chettiar DHM:
“While I was in the Eidgah Mustafabad camp on 4th March 2020, Sr Kalai FMM came to me and said that there is a woman who was just brought to the camp who is suffering from severe trauma. She and her family of four members were blindfolded during the violent attacks and taken to a place and kept for two days and nights. Later, after much pleading, they were released on the roads. With fear and  trembling they rushed to a friend’s place who directed them to the camp. Till one week even after the violence ceased, the family couldn’t muster courage to go towards their house. The woman was most traumatized of all. She couldn’t trust anyone in the camp too. When offered medicines for her blood pressure, she would refuse saying, “People are here to kill us in the name of medicine and injection, I  don’t want anything… they are coming to kill us…” Worst, she wouldn’t even drink water nor eat even fruits. Later on, to avoid going to the washroom she wouldn’t even drink water nor eat food.”

This woman became normal and started taking medicine and food, when she saw the kindness of the Sisters, and their interest in helping them with very basic needs. Loving action changed suspicion to trust.

The Catholic Archdiocese of Delhi got involved actively and directed Holy Family Hospital to arrange a medical team to go the camp. The relief work from the Catholic side was done under the patronage of the archdiocese, rather than of any particular religious order or NGO.

RUPCHA (the North Indian wing of CHAI) was actively involved.

The Delhi CRI sought help—both money and things, and made sure it reached the victims. The National CRI supported, mostly through a cash contribution. With admiration and thanks, I want to mention the following religious and priests who took the lead, got actively involved and made the terrible sufferings of the victims known to more people. In doing this, they showed the Catholic community, especially religious and priests, how we should reach out and help victims of such cruel attacks.

This relief work is carried out under the guidance of Waqf board in Eidgah, Mustafabad. The core group from the Catholic side consisted of the Coordinator, Mr Anshu Anthony, Sr (Advocate) Anastasia Gill PBVM (Member of the Delhi Minorities Commission), Fr Alex OFM Cap. (Provincial) Fr Sebastian (Director, CHAIRUPCHA), Fr John Britto (Director, Chetanalaya, the Social Wing of Delhi Archdiocese), Fr George PA (Director, Holy Family Hospital), Brother Denis SJ (Vidya Jyoti), Sr Preethi BS of Burari, and Sr Anitha Chettiar DHM (of Prabhatara).

Hats off to them, to the medical personnel from Holy Family Hospital, volunteers from various religious communities of Delhi and others who went personally and helped out generously and lovingly.

Have a look at the photos. They need no explanation. They speak for themselves.

Know that more was done than what these photos show— loving presence, listening to the victims, listing the losses to seek compensation, care of the children, providing emergency relief in cash and kind.


Fr Joe Mannath SDB

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