log on to thegoan.net @thegoanonline WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 15, 2025 GOA Facebook.com/thegoan The Goan E-Paper (Playstore/IOS) 12 pages PRICE ` 10 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME XI, NO. 118 Instagram.com/thegoanonline RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 5 3 10 I-T notices spark concern among Goa NGOs, Trusts GOA INFO Give pay parity to Goa Police's dog handlers, HC orders govt Review panel moots extra 8.93 sq kms area as private forest Glow and grow: Beauty rules to own your 20s Jharkhand police foil trafficking bid, save 13 kids enroute to Goa LATE FLASH Minister Ravi Naik no more Senior cabinet minister and former chief minister Ravi Naik passed away late night due to a sudden cardiac related issue. PTI PHYSICAL HEARINGS IN BENGALURU MANDATED FOR RENEWAL OF TAX EXEMPTION REGISTRATION Zilla Panchayat elections on Dec 13; official order issued THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI A wave of concern is raging within Goa’s non-profit NGO sector after several registered trusts and organisations got notices from the Income Tax Department mandating physical hearings and document verification at Bengaluru to renew their income-tax exemption registrations. The Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) has officially petitioned the authorities to do away with the physical hearings and instead make the process faceless online. The notices, issued under the revised compliance framework of the Finance (No.2) Act, 2024, have asked these charitable institutions to appear in person before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemptions) in Bangalore. This comes after the Finance Ministry moved to centralise exemption registration procedures under Section 11 of the Income Tax Act last year and mandated physical THE GOAN I NETWORK MAPUSA The State government has announced that the Zilla Panchayat elections will be held on December 13, as per an official order issued by the Secretary of Panchayats on Tuesday. The elections will cover both North Goa and South Goa Zilla Panchayats, comprising a total of 50 constituencies. The announcement comes as part of preparations by the Goa State Election Commission to ensure smooth conduct of local body elections. Returning Officers (ROs) and Assistant Returning Officers (AROs) have been appointed for both districts, in line with the Goa Panchayat and Zilla Panchayat (Election Procedure) Rules, 1996. A CATCH-22 SITUATION „„Short 10–12 day notice for travel to Bangalore creates financial and logistical burdens „„NGOs already stretched thin managing operations and community programs; travel for hearings adds strain „„Summons require NGOs to bring multiple docu- ments, including provisional tax returns, which are difficult to arrange at short notice „„Notices coincide with major festivals (Diwali) making attendance more challenging NGOs now petitioning for relief or remote hearing options at Income Tax Appellate Tribunal in Panaji verification of documents and activities for renewal of the crucial tax-exempt status for the sector. Several organizations in Goa have raised concern that travelling to Bangalore that too at a short 10 or 12 day notice puts an undue financial and logistical burden on them, especially the smaller ones which operate with limited resources. “We are already stretched thin managing our operations and community programs. Sending representatives to Bangalore for hearings adds unnecessary strain,” said a trustee of a Bardez-based educational NGO. Some chartered account- ants and tax consultants contacted by The Goan said that the Income Tax Department has the authority to summon such entities for verification but the lack of regional facilitation centers or digital (virtual) alternatives raises questions. Recently a case involving Guirim-based Amazing Grace Charitable Trust, first highlighted the issue. The Trust was issued notice and summoned to Bangalore for hearings related to its exemption renewal for the last financial FY 2024-25. A trustee of another NGO told The Goan that they got a notice last week summoning them for the same purpose to Bangalore on October 21, which is right in the middle of the Diwali festival. "We have been asked to bring along multiple documents and even a provisional tax return for the current financial year. No CA will be in a position to comply with it at such short notice," she said. >Continued on P6 RANCHI Thirteen children, including a girl, were rescued from a train in Jharkhand while they were being allegedly trafficked to Goa, officials said on Tuesday. Acting on intelligence inputs on Monday that some children were being trafficked through the Vasco da Gama (VSG) Weekly Express, RPF personnel boarded the train at Muri station, they said. "The personnel kept an eye on the children till the train reached the Ranchi station, where they were rescued. The children were aged between 12 and 17, and most of them had boarded the train at the Jasidih Junction," an RPF officer said. "When we questioned them about where they were going and who was with them, they didn't answer properly. They were unaware of why they were going to Goa. They only said that they had to arrive in Goa, where they would get some work," he said. The children were subsequently handed to officials of Child Line, he said. A case was lodged with the GRP Ranchi regarding this, he added. In another operation, three tribal boys were rescued at the Ranchi station while they were being trafficked to Agartala, officials said. SPORTS India crashes out of 2027 Asian Cup qualification 11 Comunidade land scam: ED raids in Goa, 2 other States Sleuths swoop down on 6 locations Crypto worth 1.5L USDT frozen THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI The Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) Panaji Zonal Office has conducted search operations at six locations across Goa, New Delhi and Chandigarh in connection with the ongoing investigation into the illegal grabbing of comunidade land, case against Yeshwant Sawant and others. As per ED details, the searches led to the recovery and seizure of several incriminating documents and digital records. Crypto wallets containing cryptocurrencies worth 1.5 lakh approx USDT have also been frozen. The latest action comes over a month after the agency raided 13 residential and commercial premises across Goa and Hyderabad, which led to the unearthing of an alleged Rs 1,200 crore land scam, with Sawant and several others named as accused. In the current round of searches, operations were carried out at Umar Zahoor Shah and Neeraj Sharma, partners of M/s Thinking of You, and The latest action comes over a month after the agency raided 13 residential and commercial premises across Goa and Hyderabad, which led to the unearthing of an alleged Rs 1,200 crore land scam Rajesh Kumar, Director of M/s Purple Martini Entertainment Pvt Ltd. During last month’s raid, the ED had seized around Rs 72 lakh cash and confiscated seven luxury vehicles, including a Porsche Cayman, BMW 650L, Range Rover, MercedesBenz, BMW M5, and Audi A6. The probe revealed that the accused allegedly forged old documents to illegally mutate over 3.5 lakh sq mts of comunidade land in Anjuna and Assagao in their names. 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