Souharda Cooperatives of Karnataka had recently held an urgent meeting in Bangalore against a backdrop of income tax problems they have long been facing. Karnataka state Souharda Federal cooperative the statutory organization responsible for ensuring the healthy growth of Souharda cooperatives in the state had called the meeting.
The meeting was presided over by Souharda federal cooperative president B.H.Krishna Reddy and around 400 representatives from over 200 Souharda cooperatives attended the meeting.
Expressing their views, cooperatives wanted specific clear-cut provisions in the Income Tax Act so that they could pay tax without difficulty. However, when there is exemption for cooperatives for paying Income Tax, why IT officials are defining the Souharda Cooperative Act in a way that cooperatives are issued unnecessary notices, they wondered. Cooperatives were of the view that if they have to pay members’ deposits as tax they will be left with no choice but to close their organizations.
The meeting discussed the work done by the Souharda delegation at New Delhi. The delegation had met Amit Shah President BJP, Shivaprathap Shukla state Minister for Finance Sushil Chandra Chairman CBDT and narrated their difficulties. The delegation had also met the Karnataka chief minister and other ministers to apprise them of their problems.
Cooperatives want the Karnataka Souharda Cooperative Act has to be amended and the word “Society”/ Societies to be added against the Souharda Cooperative by an ordinance. The Karnataka govt have agreed to issue an ordinance soon.
Several cooperators including Jagadish Kavatagimat Vice President and Director of KSSFCL Gurunath Jantikar, Sri B. Gangadharaiah, Sri. B S. Gundurao, A. R. Prasannakumar, Sri Sanjeev Mahajan, Smt. Saraswathi, B Rajshekar, Y.T. Pail, and Sharanagouda G Patil, Managing Director were present in the meeting.
Chartered Accountant Madhukar Hegde, Balasubramanyam, . Bahubali Gowraj, Umesh Shetty, Sathish Nadagouda, and Senior Advocates Malla Reddy, Atul Alur, and R.S. Hucchachari, Retired Additional Registrar of Cooperative Society and others shed light on the income tax cases.
Following are the main resolutions of the meeting
- To promulgate an ordinance for amendment of Karnataka Souharda Act stating souharda cooperatives as souharda cooperative societies.
- To inform all the souharda cooperatives about the clarifications given by the CBDT
- The KSSFCL should take lead to give solutions to IT cases in Supreme Court & in High court & the souharda cooperatives to join to their hands with federal cooperative.
- Souharda federal to give legal advise to all the souharda cooperatives who have received Notices & Orders.
- Souharda federal has to maintain district wise list of advocates & Charted Accountants list & to give solutions for the problems in the respective districts.
- The business with Associate members & Nominal Members to be strictly with the provision of the Act only.
- The souharda cooperatives have to amend their Bye laws with regard to the business with non-members (E-stamping, Air & bus ticket booking, insurance etc) as it is service to the community & not a business for the society.
- To organize a state level agitation by the souharda cooperatives of the state in case of not fulfilling the above demands.
