*Disability pension: Tax exemption could be capped to curb misuse* · The Times of India (Mumbai edition)
· 1 Nov 2019 · SERVICE CHIEFS WRITE TO GOVT TOI New Delhi: Disability pension for military personnel should be exempt from income tax only up to a certain limit, while officers of the rank of Major General and above must get their “medical boards” done before retirement from only command hospitals instead of just any military hospital. These are part of the recommendations sent to the defence ministry for approval by the Army, Navy and IAF chiefs to curb the misuse of disability pensions, with as many as 20% of retiring officers claiming and getting it. “We are trying to have a mechanism to ensure only the deserving get disability pensions,” said the Army’s outgoing adjutant general Lt-General Ashwani Kumar, before he retired on Thursday. The NDA government has faced a lot of flak for the finance ministry’s order in June that the disability pension of all military personnel will now be taxed unless they have been forced or “invalidated” out of service prematurely, as was reported by earlier. The Army headquarters initiated the move because “broad banding and higher compensation awarded for disability with tax exemption” has led to a significant rise in personnel seeking it even for lifestyle diseases. There, for instance, have been a few cases of top military officers getting disability certificates just days before their retirement to get higher pensions. But faced with a backlash that the misuse of the system by a few personnel should not be used to target all genuine disability cases, the defence ministry is now reviewing the decision to tax disability pensions for all. The Army, too, is punishing those officers “involved in impropriety in maintaining their medical profiles” as a strong deterrent, said Lt-Gen Kumar. “Around 35% of officers who retire are not found to be in the ‘Shape-1’ category but lower medical categories. Of these 35%, around 50-60% ultimately get disability pensions,” he said. Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ To unsubscribe send a message to [email protected] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list..
