Its two-year-old proposal to get the ‘‘liberalised pension’’ to war widows exempt from income tax still pending with the Finance Ministry, the Defence Ministry is likely to take up the matter with Finance Minister Jaswant Singh.Despite repeated discussions between officials of the Defence Ministry and Army Headquarters and their counterparts in the Finance Ministry and the Central board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the proposal that mooted in 2001 is still pending clearance, said sources.The sources added that the matter has been taken up at the highest level, and Defence Minister George Fernandes and Defence Secretary Ajay Prasad were briefed by the Army Headquarters recently.According to South Block sources, Fernandes is expected to take up the issue with his Cabinet colleague and Finance Minister Jaswant Singh, a former Army officer himself.An Army spokesperson confirmed this: ‘‘The Army took up the proposal in 2001 and the case is still pending with the Finance Ministry’’.It is learnt that as per the demand of the Central Board of Direct Taxes, the Army Headquarters had sent back the proposal after calculating the total tax that war widows pay. The Army Headquarters indicated to the CBDT that the amount in question is less than Rs 1 crore, which it says is negligible.The proposal was first mooted when a war widow wrote to the Army Headquarters soon after the Kargil conflict, seeking tax exemption on the ‘‘liberalised pension’’. As per Army provisions, war widows are entitled to a ‘‘liberalised pension’’, which is the last pay drawn by the Army officer or soldier. The pension applies specifically to those officers and soldiers who made supreme sacrifice in combat.Another key proposal of the Army to give weightage to its jawans and non-commissioned officers who serve for 17 years to enable them to be entitled to full pension is pending with the Finance Ministry. As per rules, government employees are entitled to full pension only if they put in 33 years of service. Only officers of the rank of lieutenant generals enjoy the benefits of full pension while brigadiers get a three-year weightage on retirement.
