Image Credits : DNA

According to recent reports, S Balakrishnan, former journalist received threats from Underworld Don Chota Shakeel for placing a bid to buy “Bhendi Bazaar Property” of Dawood Ibrahim. Currently, S Balakrishnan is associated with NGO Desh Sabha Samiti and is ready to bid for the property of Dawood Ibrahim, which is located at Bhendi Bazaar Market. On last, Saturday he claimed that he received threats from underworld Don Chota Shakeel in the evening night of December 3 and 4, 2015.

According to Balakrishnan, “He had gone to inspect the Hotel Afroz, which is located at Bhendi Bazaar and owned by Dawood Ibrahim and it is one among the seven properties of Dawood, but before bidding the Central Officers who was on duty refused to show him the property from inside, even as he insisted for it. But soon after that somehow media come to know about it and they took my byte to put it on air and because of that Don Chota Shakeel must have come to know about all these things from the news channels or media and later he send me a SMS”. However; while revealing the content of the message, Balakrishnan stated that “”Chota Shakeel asked me (what has happened to you…are you all right. why this auction and all….) ‘Tumko kya ho gaya hai….tum khair to ho…ye kya boli kya tum karnewale hain?”

Now the main question is that Is he carrying out orders from Dawood Ibrahim? However; Balakrishnan decided to not to report the matter into police because everything is clear from the content, he said and now on the behalf of the NGO we are surely going to take the part in the bidding procedure. The more he added that we are allowed to take part on December 9 and currently we are completing the formalities. Meanwhile we are hoping that our bid will be accepted by the Indian Government. Apart from that there is also a simultaneous provision of e-tendering, so it is expected that everything will be clubbed together and by the end of December 9 we will get the clear picture. The former scribes also express the surprises from Dawood’s attachment with all these seven properties. He said, “I donot understand that how Dawood has got thousands of crores of properties which are spread in all over the world, why he will run after this much small property which is just worth on 1 crore to 1.2 crore. May be it could be the issue of prestige for them because the hotel is located in his bastion and thus may be he feels that if somebody takes it away then it will be a great setback for him.

Balakrishnan, clear mentioned that we do not aim to start another hotel to make money, the idea behind this bid is to start a welfare centre for the poor children in the Bhendi Bazaar Market and these are the streets from where Dawood started his life. However; authorities have seized the properties of accused under the Narcotics and Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Properties) Act 1976 from very long time.

FATCA

It seems that US passport will not be priced possession anymore for NRIs due to FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act), which was signed up Indian government and US government. Some Indians are planning to surrender their hard-won green cards because now India and US are agreed to exchange financial information for the benefit of nation and keep an eye on big as well as small transactions. There are chances that now onwards US tax officials will impose the punitive levies on undisclosed property and cash in India. If you are the one who think that Indian tax authorities are a tenacious, so still they have to see the action of US Internal Revenue Service.

A well-recognized south Mumbai based socialite is planning to claim the citizenship of India as Indian government has signed up Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) with US government. However; other NRIs are shutting their old bank accounts with an aim to hide the big and small financial trails, gifting and assets in India to children¸ wives or husbands or other family members. From many years, US citizenship was the perfect way to hide savings and tax, while for other it was a point of vanity. Apart from that in many countries it’s not essential to get visa for US passport holders. As per tax expert, “One retired actor who was used to live in Mumbai, but to travel European Unions and other countries he took up US citizenship”.

All information exchange under FATCA includes bank accounts as well as all the assets and property transaction in real estate sector.  Apart from this information it could also involved crime records. Till now only few Indians who were US citizen were used to reveal their Indian income and investments in the US and vice versa, however; now if those information will be shared by the India in the US or US in India, so it will attract a lot of penalty with other punitive action and this is led many NRIs to move back in India to avoid penalty, as per the statement of Lloyd Pinto, Director, Grant Thornton India. Celebrities as well as businessmen are looking for ways out of the imbroglio. A large number of people residing in India and they have green card or they were retaining their American passports, but now due to FATCA, they are planning to declare all their assets in US or India, as per the statement of Jeenendra Bhandari, Partner at Tax and Audit Firm and Co LLP, who is advising clients on the matter.

Solution for FATCA Issue:

According to Bhandari, A Chartered Accountant who have license to practice in US as a certified public accountant, All NRIs has three options; they can declare their property if they have missed the deadline for this, so they can pay the penalties or they can also restructure their holdings. But for third option they have to take up Indian citizenship and renounce the American one. Those who are opting for the last one are mostly those who have took US citizenship to save tax in India, but there are many NRIs for whom its tuff and complex to transfer their assets. Because there are a lot of complications in property transferring procedure no matter you are transferring your property to your wife, son, or other family members. Transferring assets is not the most favored route because it put the owners at the mercy of relatives, as per the statement of tax experts.

However; if you are looking for the opportunity to switch the passport, so its not an easy task because according to US law, those who will renounce their citizenship have to get clearance from the revenue authorities. Most of the experts are asking their NRI clients to declare their assets because according to US tax law penalties could exceed 100 per cent. There are many NRIs who are closing their bank accounts to become Indian citizens while opening new accounts, so if you are going to US for two or more years, so you may have to face tough and complex procedure from concern authorities.

Nitin Gadkari

With an aim to improve the road connectivity with neighbouring nations Indian Government has signed Motor Vehicle Pacts (MVP) with Bhutan, Bangladesh and Nepal and now it is proposing with Sri Lanka with an aim to improve the road connectivity with Sri Lanka.

This is one of the most ambitious road project to connect Sri Lanka and India with the help of a sea-bridge and an underwater tunnel, which was believed to have been discussed  the by Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping during a meeting with Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sri Lankan Prime Minister. According to official sources, Nitin Gadkari, called on Wickremesinghe  and discussed about the construction of a sea bridge as well as an underwater tunnel linking of 22 km between Dhanushkodi in India and Talaimannar in the Island Nation.

After improving the road connectivity with neighboring nations such as; Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan under the Motor Vehicle Pacts (MVP) now India is proposing the same with Sri Lanka. According to reliable sources, It was also proposed that during the Secretary-level meeting representatives of ADB will discuss the project in Sri Lanka. “The multi-level funding agency ADB has already agreed to provide the financial support for the infrastructure of the projects which is worth about $ 8 billion for BBIN (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal) region, apart from that they have also shown interest in financing $ 5.19 billion India-Sri Lanka proposed project.

India also want Sri Lanka to join the Motor Vehicle Agreement of BBIN, which was signed in June 2015 in Bhutan during Gadkari’s visit as he was visited here with an aim to facilitate cross-border movement of all types of vehicles in the BBIN region. It is expected that work on the BBIN (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal) which is worth of $ 8 billion will complete in next two years. However; by the end of 2015 India will enter in another landmark motor pact with Myanmar and Thailand. According to Nitin Gadkari, ADB is ready to finance the project “which aims to improve the connectivity with Sri Lanka”. The more he added that it was the only missing link of narrow corridor which was about 22 km in connectivity to Sri Lanka from Rameshwaram that is presently being serviced through makeshift ferry service arrangements. According to Nitin Gadkari we are working on the project and soon it will be completed, however; Trans Asia Road and transport network could be extended to Sri Lanka.