How Do I Send a Legal Notice for My Final Settlement and Tax Clarification?

Case Details

1. Name of Employer: Rentokil Initial - UK-based Pest management company.
2. Name of Employee: J.S. Gangwar
3. Location of Employment: Gurgaon
4. Designation: Assistant Manager - Operations.
5. Date of Joining: 19th September 2011
6. Date of Resigning: 30th November 2012.
7. Notice Period: Total 30 days - served 13 days, provided Medical certificate.

Help Needed

Need to send a notice on the below-mentioned grounds:

1. My full and final settlement amount is Rs. 25,252 based on 13 days' salary. For the rest of the notice period, I submitted a Medical certificate to the regional or reporting office.
2. The company was deducting my INCOME TAX on a pro-rata basis, amounting to Rs. 11,801.
3. The company charged me a TAX of Rs. 52,536 based on my earned income of Rs. 262,680 for the period of 9 months (April - November) [I don't know the calculations for that.]
4. No intimation from the employer regarding any clarifications of Income Tax for the last month.

I NEED TO SEND THEM A LEGAL NOTIFICATION FOR CLARIFICATION AND SETTLEMENT.

Best Regards,
Jai

Based on what you mentioned ("Need to send a notice on below mentioned grounds"), it implies that you are looking for an advocate to implement what you wish to do. Is that reading right? Or are you looking for open-minded and impartial suggestions/advice on how to handle the situation (which may not match your conclusions/decisions)? Suggest bringing some clarity regarding this aspect so that the members can respond accordingly.

Regards,
TS

Dear Tajsateesh,

I just need some suggestions as of now, but I will also consider an advocate depending on several other factors. Honestly, as of now, I am open to free and legal suggestions, which I can expect at this site.

BR, Jai

Jai,

As a piece of advice, please send your queries to the HR head asking for clarification (send it through registered post only, and keep the receipt with you).

Also, ask for the Form 16 for the FY 11-12 & FY 12-13. This will help you understand the tax calculation and the full & final settlement slip.

You can also check on the income tax website the amount of TDS submitted to the IT Dept under your name (26AS). In case of any discrepancy, mention the same in the letter. As a normal process, the company that deducts the income tax submits the TDS amount to the IT department on a monthly or quarterly basis.

If it's a case of your income tax deduction only, then you can file the ITR and seek a refund from the IT dept, which is nowadays a very simple and easy process.

If you receive a favorable response, then the matter stands closed. If not, you can further send a note putting forth your point.

As a last resort, you can file a complaint against the company in the labor department (the labor office nearest to the company's office). However, this should be done after all efforts through email or written communication ONLY as that will act as evidence of your efforts.

Lastly, my suggestion to you is to keep calm in all interactions with the company, as aggressiveness may further complicate things. Legal battles take their own time.

Regards,
Rohit

Legal notice will not serve your purpose, and it may take much more time (as our friend Mr. Rohit mentioned, and it is correct). Kindly approach your local HR/Head HR for clarifications and settlement. I am sure they will help you.

Regarding IT - our friend already mentioned how to check and claim process.

Regards,
Sanjeevi

Dear Sanjeevi,

I agree with your point that it's not easy to win a legal battle against a multinational organization. However, the HR personnel seem indifferent to my numerous emails and do not respond to my registered mail. This led me to consider sending a legal notice.

Could you kindly suggest any alternative approaches?

Feel free to contact me at [Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons] for assistance.

Best Regards,
Jai

Jai, you did not serve the notice period. You provided a medical certificate, which is most probably fake. At least, that is how the company will perceive it. If not, you would have offered to complete the notice period after the medical condition was resolved. So, do you really expect cooperation from the company? Your post is unclear on whether they provided you with the full and final settlement. If they did, be grateful and remain silent. If they didn't, forget about it. They will not provide settlement for someone who didn't complete the notice period. The remaining days of the notice period will exceed the salary of the 13 days you served. Therefore, you will have to pay them. Income tax deductions are visible on your 26AS report. Just verify that, consider it in your income tax return as advance tax/TDS, and proceed with your filing. The reasons and computations they have made do not affect you anyway. Can you inform me about the legal notice that they will give you?

Interesting to note that you are only interested in people saying yes to what you want to hear. Well, it does not change the reality. However, since this thread is likely to be read by others, I will clarify.

Full and Final Settlement

The company has to do your full and final. If they choose to consider your notice period incomplete, they don't need to go to court. They will take that call. Apparently, they have taken it. Have they given you a letter or mail saying that your notice period is served? Is that person competent to take the call? As far as I know, it needs to be confirmed both by HR and operations. If that's not there, then the company mostly considers your notice period incomplete.

You have worked for a year. That covers 2 financial years.

PAN Number and TDS

What makes you think they don't have your PAN number? The company needs to deposit TDS every month and to file quarterly TDS returns. This can't be done unless they have the PAN number of every employee. How did you get your TDS certificate last year without the PAN number? That is why I said, check your 26AS report; it will show how much TDS has been deposited by your company in your name.

And, oh yes, next time, when you post a message, do state that you only want to hear people comment in your support, irrespective of whether it reflects the truth. It will save you heartburn.

Again, I fail to understand how your company managed to file their TDS returns without your PAN number. I assume they did not pay it to the government. In that case, they are in trouble. Or if they have documentation that you refused/failed to give them your PAN number, then the income tax department may ask you some uncomfortable questions. At this point, I do not have complete info to give a definitive answer.

Step 1: Check Your 26AS Report

Check your 26AS report to verify whether they have deposited your TDS. (Ask any CA you know; they will tell you how to get your 26AS report). Once you know how much they deposited (or that they didn't deposit), you can decide your next move. If the money is not deposited every month, you can file a complaint with the TDS department of the income tax office. Again, your CA will help. There are criminal penalties, but I think it will only be a fine in this case.

By the way, Form 16 is no longer considered essential as the function is now mostly replaced by the 26AS report that the income tax department gives directly to you. Secondly, the time for giving TDS certificates is not 30 days from the end of the financial year. By that time, final TDS returns are also not made. More important is what the company showed in its TDS returns every quarter.

About Your Full and Final Letter

As I specified in my earlier post, your post was not clear. Have you got that letter? Signed by HR? Or on mail? Just them having made it in anticipation of your completion is meaningless unless it was given to you. If it has been given to you, has the cheque for the same been given?

"It becomes even more interesting when you need to mention the same facts again and again, but the conception of the employee being incorrect is not rectified.

Only one liner for you sir,

'How come they have made my full and final settlement letter (mentioned earlier in the thread) until my notice period is served partially or fully?'

They did ask me for my PAN card last year, but because of some name issues in my PAN card, I was not able to provide them, as the same happened this year. So technically they do not have any details regarding my PAN card.

I got a call from a genuine friend over this site ANONYMOUS lending this information. If the company has not provided me with Form 16 within 30 days of closing the financial year, then the principal company is liable for some 6 months of punishment.

Can I have your opinion on this with respect to the point that the company doesn't have my PAN details?"

Thanks for your insights on the concerns, sir. Yes, they have provided a letter in my name, undersigned by HR and Asst. Mgr Finance. For the card: They have emails mentioning TDS and all, but I have always replied to them that due to certain complications in the PAN card, I am failing to provide them with it. Surely for TDS and all, I will consider it with my CA. The worst thing is the HR department is not reverting back to any of my emails written to them.

Regards

As Saswatabanerjee suggested, escalate the issue to the next level. However, I would suggest you do it AFTER you get the complete story about the TDS through your CA, since this can have a bearing on the overall response you can force the company to give. Going by what you mentioned about the PAN card and the regulations as reiterated by Saswata, I think you could have some sort of a trump card in your hands.

Hope you get the point. All the Best.

Regards,
TS

Thanks a lot, TS. I appreciate your suggestions. However, I guess it's a long process that needs to be initiated, as employers nowadays tend to think of employees as some kind of unnecessary part once they resign.