Following in the footsteps of GIPCL, another corporation has taken the initiative. An upper limit of Rs 122.52 crore has been fixed for the Gujarat Socio Economic Development SocietyAfter the state-owned Gujarat Industries Power Co Ltd (GIPCL) agreed to set aside 30 per cent of their Profit Before Tax (PBT) to carry out welfare activities across the state, another listed Public Sector Enterprise (PSE) of the Gujarat government, Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation (GMDC) followed suit on Wednesday.The resolution for reserving 30 per cent of PBT for social welfare got the approval of GMDC’s majority shareholders in a stormy rescheduled 45th annual general meeting.However, when contacted individually, most of the shareholders denied having agreed to the resolution that allowed reserving up to Rs 122.52 crore of the PBT.Explaining the resolution, Vijayalakshmi Joshi, MD, GMDC said: “An upper limit of Rs 122.52 crore has been fixed for reserving the funds for Gujarat Socio-economic Development Society. In any case, excess provisions would not be given for the said cause.”She also informed that the approval of the amount would be subject to the approval from the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). The funding to the social project would then be exempted under the Income Tax act 35 AC.Kulshreshtha, GM Finance, GMDC, said: “On the basis of last year’s profits, we have calculated an upper limit of Rs 122.52 crore to give away for the social cause. But that is subject to the approvals from the CBDT.” As per the details, considering the outer limit of Rs 122.52 crore, GMDC is liable to 33.99 per cent of tax on its PBT on the basis of which the company is entitled to get Rs 41.48 crore worth of tax benefit.There was a feeling of discontent among the shareholders as the resolution got the majority approval. Premal Jani, a GMDC shareholder, maintained that the meeting was deliberately scheduled at an inconvenient time of 4 pm so as to avoid detailed discussions.
