If the words “cancelled” has been written on the cheque then, it is known as a cancelled cheque. Usually, the word cancelled is written across the cheque leaf in a big font, so that it is clear to anyone seeing the cheque, that it is a cancelled cheque. The purpose of giving anyone a cancelled cheque is to let someone, for example, your employer, know your bank account details such as:
For illustration purposes only
Public utility services are facilities provided by the Government, which are essential to a citizen’s needs. For instance, these services include, the supply of water to homes, supply of electricity, the postal system, the banking system, railways, etc. The consumer protection law enables consumers to file complaints about these public utility services.
Some examples of public utility services include(( Section 22A(b), Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987.)):
The law recognizes public utility services as “establishments” under the law. This means that the local branch offices of a public utility service which are establishments, can be held liable in the same way as its main central authority. For example, if one has a complaint against the local water department, one can file a complaint against the local/district department itself, and not against the Central Water Commission. Other than the mainstream consumer protection laws in India, Permanent Lok Adalats can also be approached to request for good standards of public utility services at a district level(( Section 22B, Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987.)).
If someone is obstructing, stopping or not providing you with a public utility service, you can file a complaint with the National Government Services Portal. The Portal, though not exclusively dedicated to consumer services, has a wide range of public services against which consumers can file grievances. Issues such as commodity rates (prices of gold, silver etc.), monitoring ration cards, etc. can easily be done by visiting the National Government Services Portal. Among other things, the portal provides a user with information on the consumer complaint forum, state- wise break up on details of the Public Distribution System etc. Even complaints about the Bureau of Indian Standards can be filed here. This means that consumers can file a complaint about the quality of a BIS-certified product, Hallmarked products, misleading advertisements about the BIS standard, etc.(( Consumer Protection, Bureau of Indian Standards, accessed at https://bis.gov.in/other/consumer_affairs.htm#:~:text=%2D%20Through%20Online%20Complaint%20Registration%20on,Head%20(Consumer%20Affairs%20Department).))
The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances’ (CPGRAMS) portal is very useful to file complaints about postal services, telecommunication, banking services, insurance services, school and education, road transport, natural gas, etc.
Some states such as Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh have implemented electricity call services for making complaints about electricity service. For complaints related to water services, customers can lodge grievances at the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation grievance portal.
The issues listed above are only indications of the kinds of complaints that can be made, and it is not an exhaustive list.
Property insurance, in general, is of various kinds, depending on the property in question and the specifics of the insurance policy. Since it is a very vast category of General Insurance, the type of cover that you need depends upon the type of property you are seeking to cover. You should get a home insurance policy to protect yourself from future losses caused by any damage to the property. Different kinds of policies are available in the market such as fire insurance, burglary insurance etc((
Consumer Education Website Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India. Accessed at: https://www.policyholder.gov.in/Why_Buy_Property_Insurance.aspx )).
It is important to thoroughly check the specific terms of the insurance policy and inquire about the same in the market, before finalizing it(( List of IRDA approved Non-Life Insurers can be found here: https://www.policyholder.gov.in/registered_insurers_non_life.aspx )).
Goods include anything other than money, that is manufactured or produced for consumption by people(( Section 2(7), Sale of Goods Act, 1930)). As per the consumer protection law, goods refer to all movable property, including food.(( Section 2(21), Consumer Protection Act, 2019.)) Based on how a good is used, there are two types of goods:
Consumer protection laws apply to consumer goods and not capital goods(( Section 2(7)(i), Consumer Protection Act, 2019; Section 2(d)(i), Consumer Protection Act, 1986.)). An airplane may be a capital good when used by an airline company to provide the service of transportation, and it could be a consumer good when flown for personal pleasure. The Government controls the production and sale of capital goods in the public’s interest, for which it may even regulate or prohibit production of goods as needed. For example, petroleum production, sale and pricing(( Essential Commodities Act, 1955; Prevention of Black marketing And Maintenance of Supplies of Essential Commodities Act, 1980)).
Exemptions are those incomes which are exempt from tax. In other words, they do not form a part of the total income calculated for taxation purposes.
Given below are some examples of income that are exempted from tax:
Further, apart from the ones listed above, there are multiple exemptions under income tax law. To read more click here.
Some institutions are also exempt from giving tax such as India Wildlife Conservation Trust, charitable organizations etc. Read here to see more on exempted institutions.
Security deposit is taken by the landlord/licensor since during the rent period as a tenant/licensee you are going to be in possession of his property. It is only returned when you are handing over the keys to the landlord/licensor while vacating the flat. The landlord/licensor would usually inspect the house for any damage.
There is no specific law or regulation that determines the amount of the deposit a landlord/licensor can take. The amount is usually negotiated when the agreement is being made. The security deposit is taken by the landlord/licensor for the following purposes :
In some cities, like Delhi and Mumbai, it is a practice to take 1 to 2 months of rent amount as a security deposit, and in some others, like Bangalore, the amount taken as security is almost 10 months of rent.
Some landlords/licensors even increase the security amount when the rent increases at the end of an 11 months agreement.
Since there is no law regulating security deposit, it is all based on your capacity to negotiate and a sense of good faith between you and your landlord/licensor.
There are certain precautions to be taken by customers when dealing with cheques.
Land and housing are valuable assets, and as an owner, you can choose to seek a bank loan by using the property as a collateral. A ‘collateral’ is a valuable asset that a borrower offers as an assurance against which they can secure a loan. If you are unable to repay the money, you may lose ownership over the asset which you have offered as a collateral to the lender. For the lender, the collateral acts as a safety net.
When seeking a bank loan (business, education etc), especially when it is for a higher amount, banks require individuals to offer some asset as collateral for security. For this purpose, you can offer either self-occupied residential or commercial property. You will be required to provide proof of ownership in the form of title deeds at the time of registering for a loan. The banks decide the credibility and the value of the land / house being offered as a collateral against the requested amount for the loan. Generally, the chances of approval are high when using a land or housing property as collateral.
The government levies income tax on the annual income of an individual. Income tax is calculated from a period starting from 1st April and ending on 31st March of a calendar year.
The income tax law classifies the calendar year as:
For example, income earned during the period of 1st April, 2020 to 31st March, 2021 by an individual is income of the previous year 2020-21. The income of the previous year 2020-21 is taxable in the next year, i.e., in the assessment year 2021-22.
However, for businesses or professions, the “previous year” is the period beginning with
and ending with the said financial year.
While renting out their property, landlords/licensors are required by law to get police verification of their tenants/licensees done. This is not optional.
This process is done mainly for security reasons, so as to verify your background and check the details of past residence/family/criminal record (if any) etc.
If they do not comply with this process while making the rent/lease agreement, the owner can be punished jail time and/or fine. However, no action will be taken against the tenant.
There are two ways, you can get the police verification done. You can either approach the nearest police station and acquire a tenant verification form from them or hire a professional to do it for you for a fee. Some brokers also provide this service.
For police verification the following documents will be taken from the prospective tenants/licensees:
The police verification form can be obtained either directly from the police station, the broker or even online.
As soon as the owner receives these documents, they must sign the form and submit it along with the documents provided by the tenant and a copy of the lease/leave license to the police.
The police will then verify your background based on the form submitted by the landlord/licensor. At this stage, an acknowledgment receipt will be issued to the landlord/licensor. This process can be done online for some states.
After the process is completed, the police will then hand over a signed and attested copy of the form notifying the landlord of the result of the background check or criminal records, if any.
Banks should use “CTS 2010” cheques which are not only image friendly but also have more security features.
Banks should exercise care while affixing stamps on the cheque forms, so that it does not interfere with the material portions such as date, payee’s name, amount and signature. The use of rubber stamps, etc, should not overshadow the clear appearance of these basic features in the image.
It is necessary to ensure that all essential elements of a cheque are captured in an image during the scanning process and banks have to exercise appropriate care in this regard.
Yes. You can get a loan from the bank to purchase an immovable property by using the same property as the collateral/security. This practice is widespread when people buy residential properties in India. Home loans are generally approved on the basis that the prospective home is the collateral. Such loans fall under the definition of mortgage loans(( Section 58 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882.)). Commonly, when someone seeks a mortgage from a bank, they bind themselves to pay the loan, without delivering the possession of the mortgaged property, and agree that if they fail to repay the amount, the bank has the right to claim the mortgaged property and use it to settle the loan. Such mortgaged properties claimed by the creditors are often sold off in auctions as ‘foreclosed’(( Foreclosure of property is dealt with under Section 67 of the TP Act and also the provisions of the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Securities Interest Act, 2002)) or ‘distressed’ properties under the SARFAESI Act.
For offline mode, you have to download the appropriate ITR Form from the Income Tax Department’s e-filing portal. If you want to know which ITR Form you have to fill, read here.
A pre-filled form can also be downloaded if you log in to the e-filing portal. From your account, you can choose to ‘Download Pre-Filled XML’, which can be imported to your ITR form for prefilling the personal and other available details.
You can fill in the downloaded ITR form offline. Ensure that you fill or correct the relevant details of the form. Under ‘General Information’, choose the ‘Return filing section’ as ‘Revised return under section 139(5)’ and ‘Return filing type’ as ‘Revised’.
Enter the Acknowledgement number and date of filing of the original return. You can find out these details by going to your e-filing account and choosing ‘Income Tax Returns’ under the e-filed returns/forms.
Generate and save the form. After preparing the revised return offline, you can then submit the form online by logging in to your account on the e-filing portal.
After selecting the ‘e-File’ menu, leading to the ‘Income tax return’ page, you will have to select the assessment year, ITR form number, and state that your ITR is a revised return. You can then upload your form in the XML format. You have several options for verifying your form, and can choose to verify your form at the time of submission or later.
Once the verification is done, you can check your ITR status here.
For online mode, you have to directly login to the Income Tax Department’s e-filing portal and select either ITR-1 or ITR-4. If you want to know which ITR Form is applicable to you, read here.
After selecting the ‘e-File’ menu, leading to the ‘Income tax return’ page, you will have to select the assessment year, ITR form number, and state that your ITR is a revised return. You can then access your form by selecting the ‘Prepare and submit online’ option.
Ensure that you fill or correct the relevant details of the form. Under ‘General Information’, choose the ‘Return filing section’ as ‘Revised return under section 139(5)’ and ‘Return filing type’ as ‘Revised’.
Enter the Acknowledgement number and date of filing of the original return. You can find out these details by going to your e-filing account and choosing ‘Income Tax Returns’ under the e-filed returns/forms.
After filling the form, you have several options for verifying your form, and can choose to verify your form at the time of submission or later.
Once the verification is done, you can check your ITR status here.
Read below to know the conditions for eviction from the rented property.
If you have a lease agreement, only you or anyone you give permission to has the right to live in the rented property. However, there are certain circumstances where the landlord can evict you from the house. To do so, the landlord must make an application to an authority under this law called the Rent Controller, to evict you.
Some of the reasons for which a landlord can apply to evict you if you have a rent/lease agreement are mentioned below:
It is important to note that the reasons for eviction may differ from state to state. But largely the principles of eviction stay the same. The landlord must have a reasonable ground within the bounds of the law to evict you. If you feel that you have been unjustly evicted by your landlord, please contact a lawyer for further help.
A leave and license agreement will have a provision for the licensor (person giving out the property) to give a one month notice to get the licensee (person staying in the property) to leave their property. There are no other protections available under the law for this type of agreement unless explicitly mentioned in the contract.
There are several reasons that could cause problems in cheque processing and lead to cheque bouncing. But not all of them warrant legal action. For example, a cheque could bounce if the sign of the drawer does not match with the account.
A detailed list of these reasons has been provided by the Reserve Bank of India in Annexure D of the Uniform Regulation and Rules for Bankers Clearing Houses.
When the mortgage borrower is unable or unwilling to pay their equated monthly instalments (EMIs) under the terms of the loan three times consecutively, the lender has a right to acquire that property and either sell or lease it out(( https://www.livemint.com/Money/eGRMvQiYkQJbdaz5RG22vK/You-can-buy-foreclosed-property-online.html)). Such foreclosed properties are auctioned off by the lenders and a ‘reserve price’ is set i.e., the minimum amount the lender will accept as a winning bid for the property during an auction. Foreclosed properties are generally expected to be auctioned off at rates lower than their true market values. However, there are often concerns about the quality of such properties as the defaulters are often financially weakened, which would mean that the due repairs and general maintenance of the property are not undertaken regularly. While this is not the standard, it is important to conduct the requisite due diligence about the location, encumbrances and conditions of such property before investing.
Auctions of foreclosed properties can take place through offline or online modes, depending upon the Bank (lender). For an offline auction, prospective buyers should submit their bids with the requisite documents to the Bank before the date of the auction; and for the online mode, the buyers are expected to submit the requisite documents along with the bids online on the day of the auction itself(( https://tealindia.in/insights/how-to-make-a-secure-foreclosed-property-purchase-in-thane-with-teal-check/)).
It is mandatory for all income tax taxpayers or persons who have to file income returns (even on behalf of others), to have a Permanent Account Number (PAN). Your Permanent Account Number (PAN) is a 10-digit alphanumeric identifier, issued by the Income Tax Department. Each taxpayer (e.g. individual, firm, company, etc.) is issued a unique PAN Number, and it is compulsory to quote your PAN Number on return of income tax.
While making an application for a PAN Number, it is mandatory to quote your Aadhaar/Aadhaar Enrolment ID. You can get an instant PAN by providing your Aadhaar details. Once you have applied for a PAN, you can also check the status of your PAN application. If there are any changes in your PAN/Aadhaar details, you can update the details.
Read more here about the procedure for obtaining a PAN number.
If you want to file a complaint to the police against your landlord/licensor/tenant/licensee, you will have to go to the police station and file an FIR. You should make sure you give all the information you know about incident and trouble you have faced with either your landlord/licensor/tenant/licensee or a broker or any middle men involved while you were renting a house/flat.
When you fill a cheque either without the authorisation of the account holder or exceed the amount you were authorised to fill then you have committed a crime. This is known as forging a cheque.
The punishment for this offence is jail time up to two years and/or a fine.
Examples
If the Assessing Officer is satisfied that the amount of tax paid by you for any assessment year exceeds the amount with which you should actually be charged, then you are entitled to a refund of the excess.(( Section 237, Income Tax Act, 1961)) Any excess tax you pay can be claimed as a refund.
If you want to claim any refund from the Income Tax Department, you can do so only if you file your ITR. There is no separate procedure as such in order to claim an income tax refund due to you. You can claim tax refund by simply filing the return of income(( Section 239, Income Tax Act, 1961)) and verification in the usual manner. The Income Tax Department will then confirm your ITR verification, including details of the refund amount. Your refund claim will either be accepted or rejected.
The excess tax will generally be refunded by crediting it in your bank account through ECS transfer. Sometimes, you may owe some payment to the Income Tax Department. In this case, the income tax authorities may set off the refund amount against the sum payable by you. This is done after giving you a written intimation of the action proposed to be taken.(( Section 245, Income Tax Act, 1961))
The Income Tax Department has been making efforts to settle refund claims at the earliest. After applying for a refund, you can check your refund status. If the Assessing Officer does not grant the refund within three months after the month in which the refund is claimed, then the government shall pay you simple interest at 15% per annum on the refund amount.(( Section 243, Income Tax Act, 1961))
One of the ways in which a cheque is said to have been ‘bounced’ or ‘dishonoured‘ is when it is deposited or presented for payment but could not be encashed by the holder of the cheque.
There are several reasons why a cheque would bounce. However, not all of them amount to a crime. It is a crime if the cheque bounced either because of:
Examples: ‘A’ issues a cheque to ‘B’ for Rs. 1,000. When B deposits the cheque in the bank, the bank informs him that ‘A’ does not have Rs. 1,000 in her account to pay ‘B’ with. The cheque has been dishonoured. ‘A’ issues a cheque to ‘B’ for Rs. 1,000. Before B can deposit the cheque, ‘A’ issues instructions to her bank to stop payment of the cheque without the knowledge and consent of ‘B’. When ‘B’ tries to encash the cheque, he cannot do so. The cheque has been dishonoured.
While filing your income tax return (ITR), ensure that you use the correct form to file it. If you use the wrong form to file your ITR, it is a defective return. You will be have to file it again.
If you have made any mistake or omission in filing your ITR, you should file a revised return.(( Section 139(5), Income Tax Act, 1961)) The return should be revised within the given time limit. A return can be revised before the end of the assessment year or before the completion of the assessment; whichever is earlier.
If the Assessing Officer thinks that your return of income is defective, he may notify you2(( Section 139(9), Income Tax Act, 1961)) of the defect, and give you an opportunity to rectify the defect within fifteen days of the notice. The Officer may also allow an extension of time to rectify the defect if you apply for the same. The defect should be rectified within fifteen days or the further period allowed. Otherwise, your return shall be treated as an invalid return. It will be considered that you as the taxpayer have failed to submit the return, which will result in penalties for you.
However, in some instances, the Assessing Officer may allow the delay and treat the return as a valid return.This can happen if you have rectified the defect after the permissible period, but before the income tax assessment has been made by the authorities.
If the original return has been filed in paper format or manually, then technically it cannot be revised by online mode or electronically.
If a cheque that you’ve received as payment has bounced, you must first send a notice to the issuer of the cheque to pay the amount that was due, along with the cheque return memo that you have received from the bank. This is known as demand notice. This demand notice must be sent within 30 days of the cheque bouncing.
The drawer will have 15 days from the date of receiving the notice to pay you the money.
Drawer replies and pays the money
In such a situation, then there is no need to file a case, as you have received the money.
Drawer replies but does not pay the money
Where the drawer replies but does not pay the money, then upon the completion 15 day period, you have 30 days to file a criminal complaint in court.
Drawer does not reply, does not pay the money
Where the drawer does not reply and does not pay the money, then upon the completion 15 day period, you have 30 days to file a criminal complaint in court.
Once your cheque has bounced, you have 3 years to file a civil case to recover the money that is due to you. Please contact a legal professional to know more about the civil procedure.
If you do not file your income tax returns or you delay it, then you will face a penalty by the Income Tax Department. Return of income which has not been submitted on or before the due date specified is called belated return.
If you don’t submit a required return of income within the prescribed time limit, you will have to pay interest on tax due.(( Section 139, Income Tax Act, 1961)) Any person who has not filed their tax returns within the time period, can submit return for any previous year at any time before (whichever is earlier):
You can find a detailed list of penalties and punishments for income tax related offences here. Some of the offences are:
The fee you will have to pay for a default in submitting return of income is:
If you do not pay taxes or file your income tax returns then you will have to pay interests, penalty and even face prosecution (go to Court). The prosecution can lead to rigorous imprisonment from 3 months to 2 years. In situations where the tax sought to be evaded exceeds Rs. 25,00,000 the punishment could be 6 months to 7 years.(( Section 276CC, Income Tax Act, 1961))
To file a case for cheque bouncing, certain conditions have to be met. You can file a civil or criminal complaint under the law if the following conditions are fulfilled:
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