jabdakhata

We got our income tax refund, but a substantial amount was deducted from the original claim of Rs 40000/-. Only Rs 35000/- was refunded and that too including interests. That means about Rs 7000/- was withheld by income tax office – why, nobody knows. It took a long time and two visits to the Income tax office to get the refund. The refund for assessment year 2009-2010 was provided in October 1 2010, almost 14 months after filing return. The same income tax office which levies a high penalty on the non-payment of income tax within stipulated time, payed a paltry and miserly interest. We tried all options – calling up the IT ombudsmen in Hyderabad, filing RTI and filing first appeal after RTI was not responded. The IT ombudsmen was at first sympathetic and became very formal on the second occasion. The IT assessment officer Range 12 was at first apologetic and on our second visit became very non-chalant, as if she was not born for handling such petty issues. The Right to Information wa

The rebranding exercise at the cost of tax payers for department of post is going on for quite some times. They have revamped some of their post offices from dilapidated shacks to decent looking outposts in association with Deutsche Post. But more things change, more they remain same. Has anything changed at the service level? simply nothing. Indian bureaucracy is one of the most inefficient and most corrupt, esp. at the lower levels and India Post is a very symbol of the same. I had speed posted one RTI application to income tax department twice, based on pin codes given for their Hyderabad office in their associated websites. Every Tom Dick and Harry knows the location of Income tax office, but not India post. The speed posts came back twice, after roaming around the city for a few days, the reason cited was "insufficient address". The post offices whose stamp was marked on the envelope were stones throw away from the Income Tax office and yet they did not know the address.

It is the worst of time, an epoch of incredulity, age of foolishness, season of darkness, winter of despair...as far as new LPG connection is concerned. I always thought that getting a gas connection would be a cakewalk. That was my expereince in 2003, when I walked into the nearby Hindustan Petroleum dealership which had opened recently in Madhapur, and got a connection. The mistake I did was returning this connection before I went abroad. After coming back to India in 2007, well, it proved to be a herculean effort to get a new connection. Almot all dealers I approached - HP, Indane, BPCL, told me that the minimum wait period to get a new connection is 1 year after enlisting. Some even refused to enlist my name saying plainly that its of no use. I had to take up a private connetion from Shakti gas at a much higher price, but the service proved to be unreliable. So I finally gave it up. Private gas players are mostly out of business owing to absence of any level playing field. Therefor