PUNJAB SEED CORPORATION
GRATUITY REGULATIONS
In exercise of the power conferred by
section-25 of the Punjab Seed Corporation Act’1976
(Punjab Act No.X of 1976) and in
supersession of Regulation No.17 of Punjab Seed Corporation Service
Regulations, the Board of Members of Punjab Seed Corporation is pleased to make
the following Gratuity Regulations namely the PUNJAB SEED CORPORATION GRATUITY
REGULATIONS.
1.
Title:- These Regulations may be called the Punjab
Seed Corporation Gratuity Regulations 1985 and shall come into force with
effect from 27th
August’1976.
2.
Object:-
The object of these Regulations is to give in lieu of pension, a lumpsum grant
to the employees of the Corporation holding non-pensionable posts, who have
completed 5 years service.
3 Application:- These Regulations shall apply to all categories of
whole time regular employees of Punjab Seed Corporation.
4.
Definition:- (1) “Competent Authority” means the appointing
authority.
(2)
“Retirement” shall mean.
(3)
Retirement of an employee on superannuation or on
completion of 25 years service.
(4)
“Family” The term family for the purpose of payment of
gratuity shall include the following relatives of the employees concerned:-
a.
Wife or wives in the case or a male employee
b.
Husband in the case of a female employee
c.
Children of the employee
d.
Widow / widows and children of a deceased son of the
employee
e.
In case of unmarried employee’s parents, brothers,
sisters or other legal heirs.
Note:- a. A
child means a legitimate chilled or an adopted child if under the Personal Law
of the employees concerned in legally recognized on conferring the status of a
natural child.
b.
If it is proved that the wife has been judicially
separated from the employees concerned or has ceased under the customary law of
the community to which she belongs, to be deemed to be a member of the family,
unless the employee concerned has himself intimated in writing to the competent
authority that she will continue to be so regarded.
c.
In the case of female employee, if the wife intimates
in writing to the competent authority that her husband should not be included a
a member of her family unless subsequently she cancels in writing her
intimation excluding him.
iv.
“Misconduct” means misconduct as defined in Regulation
No.20.2 of Punjab Seed Corporation Service Regulations.
v.
“Corporation” means Punjab Seed Corporation established
under
Section 3 of the Punjab Act No.X of 1976.
vi.
“Qualifying Service: for the purpose of these
Regulations shall mean continuous service from the date of appointment in the
Corporation to the date of retirement / discharge / resignation, but it does
not include the period of leave without pay or non-condoned suspension or
interruption of duty due to absence without leave.
vii.
“Pay” means pay last drawn by a Corporation employee
before retirement / discharge / resignation and includes Personal Pay, Special
Pay, Technical Pay, Indexed Pay and any other emoluments classed as pay.
viii.
“Employees” means a regular and confirmed employee of
Punjab Seed Corporation, who is employed on regular basis in connection with
the affairs and work of the Corporation (head office / branch offices or
projects) and is on pay roll of the Corporation and excludes the following :-
a.
Deputationists
b.
Employees on contract basis.
c.
Part time employees
d.
Daily Wages / work charged and contingent paid
employees.
e.
Re-employed pensioners whether Military or Civil
recruited on or after
18.3.1991. ix. “Completed Year” means completed 12 months or a part
thereof exceeding six months.
x.
“Fund” means Punjab Seed Corporation Gratuity Fund.
xi.
“Managing Director” means the Managing Director of the
Corporation and includes any person discharging the duties of the Managing
Director for the time being.
xii.
“Trustees” means the Board of Trustees of the Fund and
shall include the Trustee or Trustees of the Fund for the time being.
5.
Condition
eligibility & rate of gratuity:- (1)
A Corporation employee, who resigns, retires or is discharged for reasons other
than those of misconduct by the Corporation before 09-9-1990 shall be entitled
to Gratuity @ one month’s pay on the basis of last pay drawn for each completed
year of service in the Corporation, provided he has put in five or more than
five years service in the Corporation.
(2) Such employees,
who resign, retires or in discharged for reasons other than those of
misconduct, by the Corporation on or after 09-9-1990 shall be paid gratuity at
the following rates :-
|
Below 5 years service
|
::
|
Nil
|
|
Upto 10 years service
|
::
|
30 days pay on the basis of last pay drawn for
each completed year of service, in the Punjab Seed Corporation.
|
|
Over 10 years Service
|
::
|
45 days on the basis of
last
|
pay
drawn for each completed year of service
in the Punjab Seed Corporation.
6.
Payment of
gratuity:- (1) As for as possible the gratuity application should be given by the
retiring employees six months in advance of the date of superannuation so that
all the preliminary formalities are completed well in advance of the date of
retirement and the concerned employee
should be able to draw his Gratuity immediately after
the retirement. However, in cases where it is not practicable to given advance
application and finalize the process of payment as early as possible but in no
case later than 60 days from the date of resignation / discharge / death of the
employee concerned.
(2) In case of
death of the employee, the payment of Gratuity shall be made to the nominated
members of the family of the deceased employee in accordance with the
proportionate shares specified in the said nomination. If no such nomination is
made the payment of gratuity shall be made to the legal heirs in accordance
with the shares payable under the personal law of the employee concerned.
7.
All application for Gratuity shall be made to the
competent authority. The particulars of the application shall be checked and
sanction of payment shall be issued by the Competent Authority.
8.
Deduction
from gratuity:- The Competent Authority shall be competent to recover
Corporation dues, if any, from the amount payable on account of Gratuity. The
deduction made from the Gratuity shall be credited in the appropriate head of
account and only balance amount of gratuity, if any, shall be payable by the
Corporation.
9.
Nomination:-
Every employee eligible for gratuity under these Regulations shall be
required to fill in a nomination on the prescribed form (in triplicate) for
payment of Gratuity in case of death. One copy of this nomination shall be kept
in the personal file of the official the other will be in Audit Cell, and the
third in the master file of nomination (form attached).
10.
Cancellation
of Nomination:- (1) an employee
may at any time cancel his previous nomination by sending a fresh nomination if
he/she so desires alongwith such notice.
(2) Every
nomination made and every notice of cancellation given by an employee shall
take effect from the date on which it is received by the Competent Authority.
11.
Relaxation:-
In case of any hardship or anomaly, the Managing Director may relax any of
the provisions of these Regulations for special reasons to be recorded in
writing.
12.
Right of
appeal against the orders of the competent authority:- An employee who is
aggrieved in any manner by the orders of the competent authority to sanction
gratuity may within 30 days from the date of the communication of the order,
appeal to the next superior authority and the decision of the appellate
authority shall be final.
13.
a. The Corporation shall play amount equivalent to
30/45 days pay as the case may be, of all regular employees of the Corporation
in two installments on 1st
September & 1st
March every year to the Board of Trustees. The funds lying with the Corporation
under already created Gratuity Reserve Fund including investment made out of it
shall also be transferred to Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees shall
consist of :-
i) Managing Director of the Corporation.
ii) Dy. Managing Director of the
Corporation. iii) Secretary of the
Corporation.
iv) Director
Finance of the Corporation.
b.
Quorum required for transacting business at a meeting
of Trustees shall be three provided that for a meeting of trustees one of three
members constituting the quorum shall be Director Finance.
c.
The trustees may from time to time appoint one of
themselves or any of the Officers of the Corporation to be the Secretary of the
Fund who may receive all notices, documents and other correspondence that may
be given to the Trustees and may sign all correspondence on behalf of the Fund
and exercise such powers and authority as may be conferred on him by the
trustees.
d.
Every Trustees shall be indemnified out of the Fund in
respect of any loss arising from or contingent upon any investments made of any
of the moneys of the Fund unless such loss shall have been occasioned directly
by his own fraud or willful neglect. Every Trustee shall also be indemnified
out of the Fund against all proceedings, suits, claims costs, damages and
expenses occasioned by any claim in connection with the funds not arising out
of his own fraud or willful neglect.
e.
The trustees for the time being shall have complete
control over the management of the Fund and the properties and securities
belonging to or forming part of the Fund shall be vested with all powers,
authority and discretions necessary or expedient for the purpose in addition to
any express power conferred by these Regulations. The Trustees shall not be responsible
for the correct calculation and payment by the Corporation to the Trustees of
the amount of gratuity, nor shall the trustees be bound at the request of
employee or otherwise to take any proceedings against the Corporation for
moneys which in the opinion of employee should have been paid by the
Corporation to the Trustees.
f.
The Trustees shall cause proper minutes to be kept and
entered in a minute book of all their resolutions and proceedings and any such
minutes of the meeting of the Trustees if purporting to be signed by the
Chairman of such meeting or by the Chairman of the next succeeding meeting
shall be received as prima fascie evidence of the matters stated in such
minutes.
g.
The Corporation shall play the expenses of the
management of the Fund, including Auditor’s fees, clerical staff, cost of
account books, stationery and the charges / expenses to which the Trustee shall
be put in connection with any claim against the Fund.
h.
Bank account and
investments - The Trustees may form time to time by resolution under their
signatures authorize any two of them to sign or endorse for transfer,
conversion or payments of any securities held by the Trustees and may by
resolution authorize any one or more of them to sign or endorse cheques drafts,
interest warrants or receipts and may also authorize the Secretary of the Fund
to sign receipts.
i.
Accounts -
The Trustees shall cause all necessary books of accounts to be kept at the Head
Office of the Corporation at Lahore showing the disposal of the money coming to
their hands and shall maintain accounts of the Fund.
j.
The Trustees shall form time to time pay, into any
scheduled bank selected by them, to the credit of the fund to any account to be
opened in the name of the Fund, all moneys received by the Trustees on behalf
of the Fund. All moneys to the credit of such account shall be dealt with only
in accordance with the Regulations.
All moneys from time to time contributed to the Fund by
the Corporation and
paid to the Trustees or accruing by way of interest or
otherwise to the Fund and not immediately required for the purpose of the Fund
may from time to time be invested in the name of the Fund at the discretion of
the Trustees in accordance with provisions of Trust Act. 1882, with power to
the Trustees in their discretion from time to time to vary or transpose such
investments late or for others of a like nature.
k.
Any loss to the Fund including any loss or diminution
in value of the investment of the Fund from any cause whatsoever, all other
costs charges, and expenses to which the Trustees or the Corporation shall be
put in connection with the Fund or any claim thereon for any reasons whatever
shall be borne by the Fund.
l.
It shall be the duty of the Trustees to get the
correctness of the accounts verified yearly by the auditors.
m.
A copy of the order sanctioning gratuity in favour of
the employee nominated member of the family or legal heirs in case of death of
any employee shall be endorsed by the Competent Authority to the Secretary
Gratuity Trust, PSC, Lahore for payment out of the Gratuity Fund.
i.
The payment shall be made after the approval of the
Trust through Band Drafts got issued in favour of the employee nominated
member/ legal heirs indicated in the sanction order. The cost of issue of Bank
Draft shall be debited to Trust Account.
ii.
The Funds in excess of the actual expenditure of
previous financial year shall be invested in Govt. sponsors scheme or
institution in such manner as may be deemed fit by the Board of Trustees.
GRATUITY FUND
No.Grty/9
7th April’2005
PSC had established
a Gratuity Fund in 1985 & Gratuity Regulations were made after the approval
of the BOD. This funds is yet to be approved by the Income Tax Department,
External Auditors M/s. Ford Rhodes Sidat Haider & Co., have advised in their
Audit Reports to get it recognized / approved from the Income Tax Department.
The main purpose of
getting it recognized from the Income Tax Department is that the contributions
made by the employer (in this case PSC) is allowed as an expense, which other
wise in unapproved funds the Tax Department may or may not allow & levy tax
on this amount. However, its other aspect of Gratuity amount being received by
the recipients (employees of the PSC) is exempt under clause 13(i) Second
schedule of Income Tax Ordinance & income tax is not to be deducted from
the employees.
To get further
details of unapproved Gratuity Funds M.D. & Chairman Fund directed to get
advice on the matter from Income Tax Consultants & the Tax Department.
After meeting the Tax consultant (Sh. Sajjad Hassan) Commissioners Income Tax
(Mr. Asif Hashmee & Mr. Saleem Atta) it has come to light that the Gratuity
Fund should be got recognized / approved from the Income Tax Department by
making on application to the Commissioner concerned (Circle / Zone where the
PSC is assessed) the Commissioner is bound to give its approval [Sixth Schedule
PartIII clause 1(3)]. The Commissioner can at the most open the case by
disallowing the Gratuity expenditure. Such cases have been decided in the
favour of employers in the next appeal stages i.e. Commissioner Appeals /
Tribunals / Supreme Court. The main argument in its favour is that funds though
not approved (by the Tax Department) function under certain approved
Regulations, contributions to the Fund are made by the employer as per Service
Regulations its has separate books of Accounts & Bank Accounts its expense
can not be disallowed merely for the reason that it is not approved by the Tax
Department. PSC’s Gratuity Funds meets all these requirements.
May like to advice on the matter, M/s. Saleem
Sandhu & Co., have already been approved by the M.D. for getting the
assignment completed.
( HAROON AHMED
QURESHI )
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