Article - 109 Week 35 | Manu’s Matsy Nyaya

Article - 109 Week 35 |   

Manu's Matsy Nyaya

Taxes need to be just and fair. And "just" also means giving more advantage to the disadvantaged, while having in place a fair and equal opportunity for all. That's the reason, our Constitution has put in place the concept of reservation and subsidy for the disadvantaged.

India has signed DTAA with many foreign countries. The Shipping Lines who are registered and paying taxes in those member countries are not required to pay taxes in India. It works both ways. However, in order to avail this facility in India, the foreign Shipping Line, needs to submit evidence to our Tax authorities and obtain a DIT license every year. However, our Tax Department insists that only those incomes arising out of carrying containers in the company's own vessels or on any listed vessel as per the Common Pool Agreement shall be exempted. Any direct slot buying from another carrier shall disqualify the appellant. However, in practice, the big shipping lines load majority of their containers outside their own vessels and Pool vessels. Majority of the carriers into India are Common carriers and even stand-alone operators, who sell their space to all major carriers. However, as the large carriers have some sorts of Pool Agreements, they submit all such evidences to get their exemption easily. They are big fish. They pay their way through to bring such an unreasonable interpretation of the tax law. The smaller and not-so-big ones, especially the Indian players with multi-country operations are shoved into the tax net. The startups,&  the smaller carriers, whose size and scale is not enough to get into such Pool Arrangements, are denied any DIT license. And all of the Indian-origin carriers are small and fit into the latter category. They are small fish. They have to pay taxes in both the countries. If that is enough, they have to deduct a TDS of 20% on all their remittances abroad. The only alternative, is to duck this Draconian Law or perish.

So big fish eats small fish or Matsy Nyaya. Our own home grown industries, who are trying to compete with the big fish in bringing cost and efficiency into carriage of goods to and from the shores of India are meted death blows by our Tax department, while the super big Carriers have a free license to do business in India and loot away without any any native competition. Such unfair and anti-domestic policies need to be urgently reexamined and replaced. They need to be replaced with policies, that encourage smaller and medium players of Indian origin and especially the startups. Or rather be given an advantage over the big fish - as that is fair and true justice.
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Brgds

Capt Rath (Skype Gtalk MSN :  psrath)

Econship

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Article - 108 Week 34 | To Be Waylaid By Hazira

Article - 108 Week 34 |  

To Be Waylaid By Hazira

The port users of Nhava Sheva have been on the receiving end, for far too long. The private Terminals have proved to be as unreliable and inefficient as the ports run by our government. The future has lost its sheen in Nhava Sheva. PAP, Unions, TAMP,  JNPT, DGS, MMD, Ministry, Private Greed, mis-management, and the unique rent extracting geographical location have all taken their pound of flesh from the helplessly reticent port users. Huge land acquisitions in the name of SEZ have pushed the land prices to mind-numbing heights in the vicinity of Nhava Sheva. Such prohibitive land prices have almost rendered it impossible for productive manufacturing Units to set shop in the vicinity. All we are left with, is a demanding, hostile, and non-productive labour force, an expensive & inefficient port, a handful of industries with sagging bottom lines (wanting to sell their land at a high price and move else where), and a gate to the consumption of nearly twenty million innocent mouths. A typical "Kolkattan Syndrome".

The new Terminal in Hazira will be a game changer. It's proximity to Mumbai will offer a salvation from the excesses of Nhava Sheva. It tacitly promises all the basics of a well functioning container terminal - those basics unattainable in Nhava Sheva. Being a spirited private enterprise, supported by the State government, this will give Nhava Sheva a run for its money. With better roads in place and its proximity of 250 Kms from Mumbai, even the importers and exporters in the vicinity of Mumbai would head towards Hazira. Living in the air of Mumbai, we all love Nhava Sheva. But our sentiments can take us only that much. Nhava Sheva will be our second preference. ICD movements would be similarly preferred from Hazira. It's a wakeup call for Nhava Sheva to pull up its socks or languish in its self-indulgent hubris with slow and sure decay - like the "Kolkattan way".

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Brgds

Capt Rath (Skype Gtalk MSN :  psrath)

Econship

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Article - 107 Week 33 | Between Men & Officers

Article - 107 Week 33 |  

Between Men & Officers

It is unsettling to watch Army Officers resist the notion of an army man being promoted to the ranks of an Officer, despite winning a medal in the Olympics. I do not contend that a sports medal is indicative of all the qualifying attributes of an Officer. However, perseverance, belief, extremely high dedication, discipline, high fitness levels, and above all a dogged determination are the basic qualities to achieve such excellence in sports. Are these qualities not the fundamentals of an Officer in the Army? If so, then why not give him a fair chance with an open mind? 

Is this resistance due to the facts that this soldier is not educated in the English speaking schools? Is this because of his rustic upbringing? The answer is yes. We kill merit so that we stay privileged. Education does not mean speaking Queen's English or displaying perfectly European etiquettes and mannerisms. Education means the ability to practice the higher values of human life. Culture, society, and schools are meant to do that. We know that the schools do a bad job of it. They teach us literacy, an analytic mind, specific skills and a whole load of never-to-be-used information to be packed into most of the useful working area of our frontal lobes. In the case of this man, he is surely loaded with all the qualities of pure education and may be deficient in English School education. Therefore, he is pushed back from joining the ranks of the privileged elites. 

This menace is every where -  in our government offices, in out Ports, in our Terminals, in our Offices, and in our factories. A clark in a government office could be smarter and much more conscientious than a mediocre IAS officer. But this smart clerk would in 98% of the cases retire as a section officer at best. And this mediocre officer would in 98% of the cases be elevated to a significant position, to impact the destiny of the nation in a significant way. A smart worker in the our Terminal would retire as a belligerent Unionist at his best - never having a chance in his life time to become an Operation Manager. A mediocre Operation Manager  will be getting many chances to manage or mismanage important processes in Organizations. Such repression of true talents and such discriminations based on School education and English speaking or writing abilities gives rise to social angst and inefficient organizations. 

All organizations, need to seek true education in place of pseudo-education in making their promotion decisions. English language can be very easily taught later. Even a smart person can easily  teach himself, if he knows that he would need this to carry on his work in future. Just to see this in real life, you can watch the way the vendors in Colaba road-sides have learnt to speak many foreign languages! Or observe the arithmetical excellence of the illiterate fisher women who can do multiplications and divisions in a flash. Time has come for all of us to break these walls of discriminations and respect merit & true education.

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Brgds

Capt Rath (Skype Gtalk MSN :  psrath)

Econship

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Article - 106 Week 32 | Am An Extraordinary Worker

Article - 106 Week 32

Am An Extraordinary Worker

I am a worker in the Port Trust. I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth. My father was a worker in the Port too. Let me explain my duties & rights. Frankly speaking, I have no duty in my profession. Yes, I have so many rights that even my wrongs are morally right. I come to the Port to allow work to go on. I do the nation a big favour by my presence, albeit a few hours late most of the time. You need to understand that I am a busy businessman as well. I have 2 dumpers and a trailer to manage as well. I loaf around my friends burping some choicest abuses at the people and administration around, while making sure that the temporary workers do not work fast. I make sure that they move slowly, start at least one hour late, stop work at least one hour before the shift ends, and also stretch their lunch and coffee breaks to infinity unless, we are compensated with speed money. We permanent ones, have the lions share in all that we extract from the employers by twisting their arms to the point of breaking them. 

Sometimes I wonder why the employers and particularly the officers in the Administration are so timid. They are even afraid to talk to me straight. They are afraid of our solidarity and political backing. They know that, one wrong word from their mouth could paralyze the entire port. We have all the power. They have none. Our Union is strong. We can break any ones bones who dares to challenge. Our Union is affiliated to many powerful Unions in the Country. Our Union Leaders are also very strong politically. Some of them are MLAs, MPs, and even Ministers. Some of them have direct links with the Naxals, capable of unthinkable violence & cruelty. 

My normal wages are as high as the Officer in the Port Trust. Plus, I make speed money and bonuses almost every day. Honestly speaking, I am a rich man. And I do not like these poor people in my area. It's such an eye-sore. Not only are they poor, they are lazy, dim-witted, and dirty. They are doing such low-standard work, like pulling old rickshaws, digging the ground to build roads, carrying large burdens on their backs, working on the construction sites, selling vegetables, or even begging in the hot sun. The are half naked with tattered clothes, sweaty, smelly, stunted, and famished. Their bellies are not even one tenth of my belly. On top of all that, they are always begging for work. May be they are those dirty migrant ones from other states!  And not civilized enough to enter the Port premises. The Government should drive them away from here. Or at least educate them. The Government is no good these days.

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Brgds

Capt Rath (Skype Gtalk MSN :  psrath)

Econship

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