The AAR states that CSR expenditures are not eligible for GST input tax credit.

The Authority for Advance Rulings (AAR) Gujarat bench has ruled that corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives are not part of regular company operations. It ruled in a case involving a private limited business, Adama India. The AAR stated Adama India would not be eligible for GST input tax credit.

If the CST authorities implement this decision during evaluations, it would be a massive blow to India Inc, which has spent extensively on CSR initiatives like giving medical assistance through oxygen concentrators and sanitisers, to mention a few.

This is another typical instance of two AAR benches having opposing opinions on the same subject. In its April 8 issue, TOI reported the Uttar Pradesh (UP) bench’s judgment in Dwarikesh Sugar Industries.
In this instance, the AAR panel ruled that CSR spending is spent to meet a company’s legal responsibilities. Thus, the company’s CST paid on CSR-related purchases may be offset against its GST obligation (this is referred to as ITC).

The applicant company supplied pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides to the Gujarat AAR. Its CSR expenditures included school notebooks and course materials, seats and tables in schools and hospitals, cement benches in public areas, oxygen-generating plants in hospitals, masks, sanitisers, and oxygen concentrators.

It asserted that since CSR expenditures were obligatory, they are expended in the course of business. So it should qualify for ITC.
But the Gujarat AAR bench disagreed. It went on to say that the UP AAR bench’s decision did not bind it and that AAR judgements only bind the applicant and the appropriate GST authorities.

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Piramal Foundation to contribute Rs 100 crores in COVID Relief

India: In cooperation with Niti Aayog, the Piramal Foundation will establish up to 100 Covid Care Centres in rural and tribal blocks across 25 of the most hit Aspirational district.

The foundation will provide Home Care Support to the tribal and rural population with low access to health facilities in 112 Aspirational areas throughout India to tackle the present emergency caused by the second wave of Covid-19.

 

Piramal Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Piramal Enterprises Limited (PEL), will fund INR 100 crores towards COVID Relief in India.
The major project will focus on the severe effects of Covid’s second wave in India’s Aspirational Districts.

Through a network of 1000+ NGOs and over 1 lakh volunteers, the operation seeks to deliver 2 million individuals in 1143 blocks.
It seeks to reach 1.25 lakh individuals in 32 blocks throughout four Aspirational Districts of Gadchiroli, Nandurbar, Osmanabad, and Washim in Maharashtra alone.

Dr. Swati Piramal, Public Health Expert, and Vice-Chairperson Piramal Enterprises Limited said, “There is a need for urgent and innovative action to address this gap. ‘Anamaya’, the Tribal Health Collaborative, and other Piramal Foundation initiatives will help reduce the burden on the system and improve access to healthcare for the rural and tribal communities.”

The four Aspirational Districts of Maharashtra have been among the most impacted. There were 1.6 lakh cases in these districts, with close to 3063 fatalities. The figure is dangerously rising, with over 3.3 percent of Maharashtras deaths occurring in these aspirational areas.

“This pandemic has reiterated the power of collaboration for all of us. The support from philanthropic partners and civil society organisations has contributed immensely to each district’s preparedness and COVID response.

Piramal Foundation has been a crucial member of our COVID task force in Nandurbar, they have been supporting us in the Aspirational Districts Programme for three years now and with this second wave, they’ve left no stone unturned in supporting us with providing essential medical supplies, following up with home isolation centres, hand holding the on-ground staff, mobilising communities for covid vaccination, and popularising COVID appropriate behaviour through community and tribal influencers,”
said the District Magistrate, Nandurbar, Maharashtra.

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Beirut mishap: Qatar Airways launches relief drive

Qatar Airways has launched a relief drive to provide
essential aid in Beirut in the wake of a devastating explosion there that
killed at least 160 people and wounded about 6000 others.

The airline informed that it has partnered with Qatar Charity (QC), Monoprix Qatar, and Talabat to deliver essential supplies free of charge from Doha to Beirut by Qatar Airways.

According to officials, Qatar airways will collect essential
supplies related to hygiene, housing, nutrition, medicines and rehabilitation.
Earlier, on August 9, Qatar Airways had carried over 45 tonnes of essential
supplies, donated by its employees, from Doha to Beirut under the guidance of
Qatar Airways Group chief executive HE Akbar al- Baker.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Lebanon
during this tragedy. In such difficult times, it has been touching to see so
many of our employees at Qatar Airways offering their support to the people of Lebanon
through donations,” said HE al- Baker.

“We are delighted to extend our aid programme to members of
the public in Qatar. Today’s freighter is one of three that we will fly to
Beirut,” he added.

The explosion in Lebanon’s port city of Beirut on August 4 killed at least 160 people and injured about 6,000 others. Buildings were damaged for miles around the city after 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive chemical used in fertilisers, stored at the facility for six years, reportedly caused the explosion.

By: Nawal Mukadam
Email Id:nawal-m@crowdteck.com

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Beirut mishap: Talabat App launches campaign for victims

Leading food and grocery distribution application Talabat on Wednesday announced it will donate all profits from food and non-food orders placed between 12 and 4 pm on August 8 with them to the victims of the Beirut explosion, that killed 160 people and injured 6000 others.

Francisco de Sousa, managing director of Talabat in Qatar announced the
middle eastern firm’s ‘#LunchforLebanon’ campaign, while voicing sympathy with
the affected. He said this campaign will be over and above other projects
already rolled out to aid the beleaguered city and urged people to support the
cause.

“I think we have all been affected by the
tragedy that unfolded in Beirut, and the outpouring of support from the region
has been a testament to that. Many of our employees, customers, and partners
are Lebanese and are heavily affected by the situation in Beirut, and our
hearts and thoughts are with them and their families. We, not only as Talabat
but as individuals, want to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to
help. This means using our platform as a vehicle to support the
initiative.”

Tomaso Rodriguez, chief executive officer
of Talabat said.

“We will be donating 100% of our profits to the recovery efforts in Lebanon. We are calling on other aggregators in our sector to join us, and make sure that #LunchforLebanon is an initiative right across our industry. Beirut needs us and this is a time where we need to join forces to help our beloved Lebanese people recover from this tragedy.” Rodriguez said in a statement.

By: Nawal Mukadam
Email Id:nawal-m@crowdteck.com

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Doha Bank donates QR 300,000 as aid to Beirut

Doha bank has donated QR 300,000
in response to a campaign, which was launched to
provide humanitarian aid in Beirut in the wake of a devastating explosion there
that killed at least 160 people and wounded about 6000 others.

The “Lebanon
in Our Hearts” campaign has been launched by Qatar Charity (QC), in
co-operation with Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) and Qatar Media Corporation
(QMC) under the supervision of the Regulatory Authority for Charitable
Activities (Raca) for Charitable Activities.

The campaign is
aimed at implementing humanitarian projects to contain the effects of the
disaster, starting with urgent response and early recovery.

Doha bank’s donation is aimed at
supporting a quarter of the population of Beirut, who were left with homes not feasible
to stay in, with buildings demolished by the massive blasts and subsequent
shock waves.

Chief Retail Banking Officer of
Doha bank Braik Ali al-Marri said, “Doha Bank extends its sincere and heartfelt
condolences to the Lebanese people on the disaster that struck them. Our
contribution of QR300,000 to the ‘Lebanon in Our Hearts’ fundraising campaign
is channeled towards assisting the victims of that tragic incident and
equipping them with all the necessary needs, from food items to medical
supplies and clothes in a bid to compensate them for their losses.”

Notably, Doha Bank strongly
supports charity and initiatives rendered by several other NGOs to help the
disadvantaged in line with its policy goals. The bank’s donation towards the “Lebanon in Our Hearts” campaign associates
with Qatar’s commitment to assist the affected Lebanese citizens and in
accordance with its activities as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

The explosion in Lebanon’s port city of Beirut on August 4 killed at least 160 people and injured about 6,000 others. Buildings were damaged for miles around the city after 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive chemical used in fertilisers, stored at the facility for six years, reportedly caused the explosion.

By: Nawal Mukadam
Email Id:nawal-m@crowdteck.com

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Qatar Airways launches initiative to empower NGOs

In a bid to empower Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) to use its freight facilities to distribute essential items free of cost amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Qatar Airways has launched a ‘We Qare-1Million Kilo’ initiative, aimed at furthering the United Nation’s sustainable development goals.

Speaking about the initiative launched in mid-July, the airways’ Chief Officer of Cargo Guillaume Halleux said NGOs will not have to pay anything to distribute medical supplies and humanitarian assistance between July and December this year.

“With ‘We Qare’, Qatar Airways Cargo hopes to create a sense
of fulfilment within our industry – whether by supporting charities, reducing
our carbon footprint, fighting to protect wildlife, or promoting equality, diversity,
young people and culture,” Halleux said in an interview with Air Cargo News.

He said Qatar Airways, the world’s largest international freight carrier, according to International Air Transport Association (IATA) statistics, wants to set an example, both from a business viewpoint and in terms of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and added that the initiative allow it to play a part in building tomorrow’s world.

“We want to play an active and leading role in moving
mindsets forward within our industry for the sake of its future,” said Halleux
and added that an industry made up of committed stakeholders who care about the
impact of their actions and who work to achieve sustainable economic
development is vital.

He further said while the next phase of the project is still
being formed, Qatar Airways hopes that it will encourage the industry to be
more responsible for the adverse effect air freight has on the environment.

Halleux said amid the COVID-19 pandemic, much of the
humanitarian assistance would be passive pharmaceuticals and medical supplies
but could also contain food products or other necessary things and that these
products will be transported to any place in the world, as long as the network
of the carrier permits.

“To ensure our business activity is inclusive and can continue in the long term, we need to put sustainability at the heart of the air freight sector’s concerns. Currently, there is nothing in our industry to unite us around the issue of sustainability,” Halleux rued.

By Nawal Mukadam
Nawal-M@crowdteck.com

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Green Yatra Foundation: Preserving the green

Green Yatra Foundation, an Indian environmental NGO is working towards protection, conservation, and betterment of environment. It has educated millions of children, youth and people for a greener present and future.

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Social Responsibility embedded in Religion

Social Responsibility principles have been embedded in religious scriptures in some aspect or the other. One such major religion of the world is Islam in which these principles were embedded for more than 1400 years.

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The Good Samaritan…

A man who’s lived his life serving people, follows simple ideologies in life. Modest, down to earth and humble, Mr Hassan Chougule recounts his life’s journey with Arshia Khan

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Insights – Why Corporate Social Responsibility is important?

Why CSR is important?

Corporate social responsibility (CSR, also called corporate sustainability, sustainable business, corporate conscience, corporate citizenship, conscious capitalism, or responsible business) is a type of international private business self-regulation. It is also a is a broad term used to describe a company’s efforts to improve society in some way. This can easily be donating money to nonprofits or installing environmentally friendly policies. CSR is a moral factor for companies, nonprofits, and employees alike. Corporate social responsibility is not a mandated practice in some parts of the world, these places it is something extra that companies do to improve their local and global communities. According to various reports the amount that corporations gave to charities last year was around $ 17.8 billion as per different reports.

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