Beware before buying BDA plots in auction. Only Corner & Commercial sites can be auctioned

For over a year now, the Bangalore Development Authority has been placing advertisements in newspapers announcing the public auction of corner as well as intermediary plots. Even as BDA officials hailed the initiative as a solution to the agency’s revenue crunch, several rights groups including the Arkavathy Layout Allottees Association have accused the BDA of running a real estate business.

However, an April 2009 High Court order dug out by an activist shows that the auction of intermediary plots is not just a controversial policy issue but also rank illegal.

Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, RTI activist B.M. Shivkumar produced a copy of an April 24, 2009 division bench order which clearly states that only residential corner and commercial plots can be auctioned.

Para 19 of the order states that “as per provisions of the BDA (disposal of corner sites and commercial sites) Rules 1984 corner sites are required to be disposed of only by public auction”.

However, in respect of other residential or intermediary plots, the order quotes the same 1984 rules to state, “intermediary sites are required to be offered for allotment to eligible persons as per Rule-3. These intermediary sites cannot be disposed of by public auction.” Further the order states that non-corner, residential plots are to be allotted to eligible applicants.

Brandishing a clutch of advertisements issued by the BDA announcing the auction of intermediary plots, Mr. Shivkumar said, “This auction is completely illegal. It is in violation of a High Court order that is based on the 1984 rules notified by the government.”

He also said that those who purchase these plots in the auction might be running a huge risk. “Anybody can challenge these purchases in court. Those buying plots in auctions should be careful as the court might annul the transaction,” he said.

Criticising the BDA, he said that there are lakhs of people waiting for plot allotments in the city. “Instead of giving them allotments that are due for as many as 30 years [in some cases], they are running this money making racket,” he said.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/beware-of-buying-bda-plots-in-an-auction/article5012957.ece

UK based Indian pension investors (expats) can consider QROPS schemes in India & OFF Shore for better tax advantages on their UK pension savings

Expats including India based UK expats should know that they can no longer depends on the financial favors from UK Government anymore irrespective of whether they are in or out of the UK tax system. It looks UK Government is making clear on this part to UK expats.

For the information of UK expats there would be a consultation to consider scrapping the personal income tax allowance for expats.

When it comes to a question that who receives the allowance, it totally depends on the definition of an expat. From the tax point of view, an expat is no longer a UK resident & the member settles in another country & pay taxes there itself. Even though it does looks like UK Govt has liberated pensions, they are still decided  to collect for Treasury.

So switching one’s  Onshore pensions to an OFF Shore QROPS is the solution to get out of this tax trap.

On switching Onshore pensions to a OFF Shore QROPS like switching to a jurisdictions like India, Gibraltar, Malta etc., the member pays income tax on the pension payments in the country where he is tax resident , not at UK tax rates. The tax rates vary considerably from country to country.

For example, on transferring to a Gibraltar based QROPS the investor ends up paying just 2.5% income tax on pension income & also can withdraw 30% tax free lump sum on attaining age 55 .

Also, QROPS pension benefits can be taken in terms of any major currencies & not just in GBP ,that can be credited into member’s personal bank account directly. So that there is no foreign exchange worries.

Most of the QROPS providers do accept small UK pension pots also that are less than 75000 GBP. This will help many expat pension investors, those who got an average pension pot of 38,000 GBP.

About 80% of the Indian expatriate's have savings in an existing UK pension fund but are considering retiring in India and few percentage of them in other countries outside UK.

 The QROPS program was launched on 6 April 2006 as a part of new legislation with the objective of simplifying pensions. Typically this occurs when a Indian UK resident leaves the UK to permanently emigrate (or to retire abroad) having built up a pension fund within a scheme approved by HMRC or when a person born in India who has built up benefits in a HMRC approved UK Pension Scheme decides to return to his home country or  abroad with an expectation of retiring there.

Please contact me for an informal chat about the transfer scheme, finding right QROPS scheme in India and in OFF Shore jurisdiction to get your UK pensions transferred and Retirement planning with my following Contact details.

Mr Ravi Kumar. Financial Consultant.  Exide Life Insurance Co Ltd (formerly known as ING Life Insurance Co Ltd)

28, 6^th Floor, Centenary Building,  Adjacent to Raheja Towers, M.G Road, Bangalore-560 001.       

Cell: +91 9980927393,  +91 9844519872

Email:  ravi.sampige@gmail.com

Now transfer your Ireland pension fund to ‘Exide Life Golden Years Retirement Plan’ in India & watch it grow.

Any Indian who has contributed to pension fund in Ireland and has either moved or is planning to relocate to India can now transfer his/her Ireland pension fund to ‘Exide Life Golden Years Retirement Plan’ of Exide  Life Insurance Company Ltd in India.

Ø  Only Non-active pension funds can be transferred

Ø  Ideally suited for Indians who are returning to India for a long term.  

4 reasons why one should look at transferring their Ireland pensions :

a)      Receive pension & other benefits in Indian rupees

b)      Withdraw upto 33% of your pension fund in India at the time of vesting.

c)       Benefit from better appreciation opportunity presented by the Indian market

d)      Leave behind the unused pension funds for your beneficiary without any tax liability

                                Tax advantages & Flexibility

a)      Tax free commutation upto 1/3^rd of your fund value*

b)      Further contributions enjoy tax benefits u/sec 80C*

Benefit from a Growing Indian economy

In economies like Ireland/UK expected annual returns are in the range of 2 – 4%. Whereas India offers better earning opportunity than the Ireland market may offer. For example, the deposit-term deposit rate in India is above 9%.

Benefits from the experience in Managing the assets from Exide Life

Ø   Exide Life Insurance is an established player serving over 1 million customers in India for 12 years

Ø  The company has demonstrated a good track record in managing retirement & pension products

Ø  Has delivered consistent returns by declaring an average bonus of 8.54% & 9.62% over last 8 & 4 years respectively

Ø  Experience in managing a retirement corpus of INR 1000 cr. under its  erstwhile pension scheme ‘Exide New Best Years’

Other key benefits to customers

a)      The product offers the Guarantee of investment amount and the returns declared theron

b)      A minimum of 40% of the investments is done in Govt securities & AAA rated funds , to ensure the safety net to the retirement corpus from any kind of market swings

c)       Flexibility in terms of choosing the vesting age & also the premium payment terms

Summary

This pension scheme in India presents you a unique opportunity where you can save 100% of your pension contributions made in Ireland

The Indian economic growth provides an opportunity to improve returns on investments in comparison to Ireland

Exide Life Golden Years provides the best of Capital Guarantee, flexibility & tax benefits to you.

To know in detail about the benefits or amount of pensionable service the transfer value payment of Ireland pension pot will buy in the receiving pension scheme in India & also To know more about the options, pension schemes available in India to get your Ireland pensions transferred, I wish to schedule a free, no obligation telephone consultation to discuss ways I can help yourself and any of your colleagues who has accumulated pension fund in Ireland. I can also be reached with the following contact details.

Mr Ravi Kumar. Financial Consultant (Code: 60272381), Exide Life Insurance Co Ltd. Branch- B 21, # 28, 6th floor, Centenary building, M.G Road, Bangalore-560 001.

Cell:     +919844519872, +919980927393
Email:  ravi.sampige@gmail.com

Ireland Pensions transfer to Non-EU countrie’s International pension schemes-Pension Portability option to India.

Any Indian/PIO/OCI/NRI working in Ireland should know that portability of  pensions are a extremely complex area and before leaving Ireland the Member should sought expert advice on transferring his/her Ireland pensions to India or to any other jurisdictions of his/her choice. In case, the Member is planning to leave Ireland for short period of time, then the Member should look at tax impacts if the Member wishes to continue to contribute to Irish pension account while being in Overseas & also the tax implication on the returns earned by the Irish pension scheme whilst Member is in Overseas.

The protection riders like social security and any other extra benefits or amount of pensionable service the transfer value payment of Ireland pension pot will buy in the receiving pension scheme in other countries will depend on the overseas country.

In case, if an India based Ireland resident moving to the countries that are covered by EU & EEA regulations, it is treated in the similar way as the country’s own residents. In such a scenario then the Member has to fill prescribed forms like E104 etc., that will give the details of social security details to avail benefits claim.

The pension board is obligated to oversee occupational pensions and PRSAs when it comes to transferring pensions to overseas scheme. There are few important requirements under the provisions of ‘The Occupational Pension Schemes & Personal Retirement Savings Accounts (Overseas Transfer Payments) Regulations to be adhered to before to an Overseas transfer being made under the provisions of Pensions Acts. The following are the important requirements to be adhered to:

a)       The trustees or PRSA provider are required to obtain written confirmation from the trustees, custodians, managers or administrators of the overseas arrangement, to which the transfer is to be made, to the effect that the overseas arrangement provides "relevant benefits" within the meaning of  relevant provisions of Taxes Consolidation Act.

b)      The trustees or PRSA provider must be satisfied that the overseas arrangement is approved by an appropriate regulatory authority for the country concerned.

c)      The trustees or PRSA provider of the Irish arrangement must obtain from the member of the arrangement or the PRSA contributor wishing to make the transfer such information as may be approved by the Pensions Board.

India based Ireland expats can make the most by transferring their Ireland pensions to an IRDA recognized pension scheme in India. Many India based Ireland expats like Doctors, engineers & other highly qualified professionals working in Ireland & have contributed & still have been contributing to Personal Retirement Savings Account (PRSA) in Ireland.

To know in detail about the benefits or amount of pensionable service the transfer value payment of Ireland pension pot will buy in the receiving pension scheme in India & also To know more about the options, pension schemes available in India to get your Ireland pensions transferred, I wish to schedule a free, no obligation telephone consultation to discuss ways I can help yourself and any of your colleagues who has accumulated pension fund in Ireland. I can also be reached with the following contact details.

Mr Ravi Kumar. Financial Consultant (Code: 60272381), Exide Life Insurance Co Ltd. Branch- B 21, # 28, 6th floor, Centenary building, M.G Road, Bangalore-560 001.

Cell:     +919844519872, +919980927393
Email:  ravi.sampige@gmail.com

Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme.(QROPS): India based Ireland expats can avail tax advantage...

Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme.(QROPS): India based Ireland expats can avail tax advantage...: India based Ireland expats can make the most by transferring their Ireland pensions to an IRDA recognized pension scheme in India. Many In...

India based Ireland expats can avail tax advantages by transferring Ireland Pensions to India based Pension schemes

India based Ireland expats can make the most by transferring their Ireland pensions to an IRDA recognized pension scheme in India. Many India based Ireland expats like Doctors, engineers & other highly qualified professionals working in Ireland & have contributed & still have been contributing to Personal Retirement Savings Account (PRSA) in Ireland.

One of the major advantages in transferring the Ireland pensions to a Recognised pension scheme in India is a tax advantage that member enjoys in India. The pension benefits in Ireland are generally subject to many kinds of Iresh taxes like:

Ø  Capital Acquisition tax (CAT)

Ø  Iresh Income  tax

Ø  Universal social charge (USC)

Ø  Pension levy etc

Taxing rate of pension benefits in Ireland differs on different phases & options like, the drawdown phase, accumulation phase etc. Under drawdown phase, there are two options:  pension lumpsum option and Annuity option etc.

For instance, under Annuity option, the income from Annuities is liable to Income tax & Universal Social Charge(USC). Similarly, the taxing rate is different if the pension Member dies before drawing down PRSA benefits.

For one’s information, the rate of Iresh CAT(capital acquisition tax) is currently 33%. Under pension lumpsum option in the drawdown phase, any amount above 575000 Euro’s will be subject to Iresh income tax & universal Social Charge (USC) of upto 48%. The marginal rate of income iresh income tax  is currently 20%.

Insurance & pension industry has open up for private players from the year 2000 in India. Now apart from LIC of India, there are currently more than 25 insurers providing different kinds of pension & insurance schemes to suit the client’s requirements. Mainly following are the kinds of pension schemes available,

1)      Immediate annuity scheme

2)      Deferred annuity scheme

3)      Unit linked pension scheme etc

Immediate annuity schemes are the most popular pension scheme in which the member will start receiving pension income as soon as his Ireland pensions transferred to an Immediate annuity scheme in India. The member will receive annuities till he/she is alive & on member’s demise the entire transferred Ireland pension corpus will be passed on to the member’s nominee as a tax free lumpsum.

In the deferred annuity schemes, the member can leave the transferred Ireland pensions to grow tax free till he/she attains retirement age (45-55 years). In India, the growth rate has not been less than 9% since last 8 years. On attaining the retirement age, the member can withdraw 33% of the total grown corpus as a tax free lumpsum & on remaining 67% (2/3^rd)  the member will start taking pension income till his/her life time. On member’s demise, the entire 2/3^rd  Corpus will be passed on to pension member’s  nominee as a tax free lumpsum.

Once Ireland pensions transferred to a pension scheme in India, the member is not liable to pay Ireland taxes like,

Ø  Capital Acquisition tax (CAT)

Ø  Iresh Income  tax

Ø  Universal social charge

Ø  Pension levy etc.,

To know more about the options, pension schemes available in India to get your Ireland pensions transferred, I wish to schedule a free, no obligation telephone consultation to discuss ways I can help yourself and any of your colleagues who has accumulated pension fund in Ireland. I can also be reached with the following contact details.

Mr Ravi Kumar. Financial Consultant (Code: 60272381), Exide Life Insurance Co Ltd. Branch- B 21, # 28, 6th floor, Centenary building, M.G Road, Bangalore-560 001.

Cell:     +919844519872, +919980927393
Email:  ravi.sampige@gmail.com

Tax ruling boost's transferring UK/NHS pensions to a QROPS in India

In a recent ruling by Honorable high court of Delhi states that employee contributions to overseas pensions were not taxable, provided that the employee is not receiving any benefit currently out of the scheme. The relief applies for the savings made for future retirement.

This can be termed as bonus for expats with QROPS living or working in India . This historic case  between Yoshio Kubo and others against the Commissioner of Income-Tax, resulted in giving clarifications for other tax issues for expats in India.

For example, apart from pension decision including QROPS, the following other rulings also included:

Ø  There should be no tax on employer contributions to overseas social security or private medical insurance

Ø  Tax paid by the employer on rent free accommodation is excluded while working out the value of the

Ø  There should be no tax for Hypothetical tax withheld from expat salaries

Ø  Refunds of tax deducted at source should not be taxed

Ø  paying for expat tax returns by employer is not taxed

It was the issue before the court was whether tax borne by employers for expat employees was a non-monetary perquisite – a benefit that should be taxed – and whether employer contributions to overseas social security was taxable

The ruling of the honorable court is termed as historic & landmarking one in the tax law of India. This ruling has a bearing on expat workers and their employer’s wide range of tax issues in India.

“The judgment confirmed the rules that should be applied on three main issues, namely grossing up benefits, taxing employer contributions to offshore social security and hypothetical tax”

The honorable court also digged at other expats pay issues and gave clear rulings on how benefits are taxed in India. This is a favorable move for expat’s in India since India is one of the largest expat destinations in whole Asia.

This landmark ruling aid’s many british expat workers retirement planning in India as they are not liable to pay taxes on any further contributions into their overseas pension funds(QROPS schemes).

No doubt, this also boosts attracting top talents, high skilled expats to the country helping this fast growing economy to grow further fast.

Please contact me for an informal chat about the transfer scheme, finding right QROPS scheme in India to get your UK pensions transferred and Retirement planning with my following Contact details.

Mr Ravi Kumar. Financial Consultant.  Exide Life Insurance Co Ltd

28, 6^th Floor, Centenary Building,  Adjacent to Raheja Towers, M.G Road, Bangalore-560 001.       

Cell: +91 9980927393,  +91 9844519872

Email:  ravi.sampige@gmail.com