My suggestions about the petition are: 1. Please make it more crisp highlighting the problem of TDS/service tax. The problems with TDS are: (a) foreign publishers will have to take a PAN and also to submit a tax residency certificate (TRC) (b) publishers particularly associations do not bother to take Indian PAN (c) associations which enjoy tax exemptions in their country because of their non-profit nature cannot produce TRC. I am talking from my experience with JSTOR. They can produce the certificate stating their tax exemption status. But Accounts sections are refusing to accept it as TRC and deducting 15-25% from the invoiced amount. Publishers are considering it a short payment and either returning the money or keeping it as suspended amount. I have experience of both these situations. 2. Accounts sections are overacting with section 195 of Income Tax act and are interpreting that this deduction is applicable even for printed books and journals. Again I am talking from my own experience. All these will lead to either too much escalation of price of e-resources or publishers refusing to supply and thus weakening the collection of a library. 3. Please include in the petition that all information resources (books, journals, databases, cases, or any other information producing material) that may be available in any format (print, electronic, audio-visual or any other possible format) that are procured by a library to include in its collection or for use in the classroom (such as cases), must be taken out of any tax liability. I am not good at legal language but I hope I could make my points understandable. Regards, Swati Bhattacharyya, Ph.D. Librarian Indian Institute of Management Calcutta Joka, Diamond Harbor Road Kolkata - 700104 India Phone: 91-33-2467-8300 (Bus extn: 416; Res extn: 106) Library: http://library.iimcal.ac.in On Thu, Jul 31, 2014 at 2:56 PM, Dinesh Siddaiah wrote:

Dear All,

I too would like to join with Goudar to appeal LIS community to sign the online petition and support ILA to fight against illogical financial bill which is threat to the development of electronic libraries in India. Imposing service tax and TDS on E-resources will severely lags the advanced teaching/learning and research out put in the country. Please forward the link in social medias as well so that it reach fast and effectively as well: www.ipetitions.com/petition/indian-library-association

I also would like to request ILA to revise the first para of the petition if possible, so that taxation issue will be prime concern rather than mixing up the issues of development of e-libraries in the country. ILA can take up development of e-libraries in a separate request. ILA may also give serious thought on revising organizational/work structure and bringing fresh mind in to the fold for the betterment of the county.

Many thanks to Goudar for timely advise, motivation, updating the community as and when required.

Bottom Line:

"Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success." ~Henry Ford (1863-1947)

Best Regards, Dinesh

Dear Professionals,

We have too short time to approach the FM before the budget is approved and becomes a sort of law, making it difficult for libraries and other stake holders to acquire or sell e-resources even for academic and research purpose due to service tax and TDS. Let the Government differentiate between a software and scholarly e-content. Please read the forwarded mail of Prof. Koganurmath and sign the petition immediately ( www.ipetitions.com/petition/indian-library-association) and strengthen ILA and other Associations in convincing the FM appropriately. PLEASE FORWARD THIS MAIL TO YOUR PROFESSIONAL FRIENDS, SO THAT THE NUMBER OF PERSONS SIGNING THE PETITION GROWS FAST.

-- Dr. Dinesh K. S. Deputy Librarian, Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, Nangal Road, Rupnagar, Punjab - 140 001. Phone: 01881 - 242134 (O) 9779747902 (M)

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