KOCHI: In a first, the state government has decided to refund Rs 55.18 lakh from the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) to 97 applicants who claimed they had donated the money by mistake. The finance department agreed to repay after verifying the genuineness of the applicants who requested the refund of the money donated to flood relief fund of 2018 and 2019 through online transactions.
“Many applicants said they made the donation by mistake, while a few said that they keyed in additional zeroes to the amount while initiating the transaction,” said a senior finance department officer. As per the government order, the money will be refunded to applicants’ bank accounts through RTGS. While the maximum number of applicants are from North India, 13 are from Kerala.
The application for highest refund of Rs 22.5 lakh was made by a person who holds an account with a new generation bank at Ballygunge in Kolkata. Some applicants have even requested the refund of Rs 3,000 and Rs 5,000.
However, those who have already claimed income-tax deductions on the basis of the above donation should immediately refund the same or adjust the same in the current year’s tax, the finance department clarified. The CMDRF received Rs 5,258.9 crore between July 27, 2018 and March 26, 2020 as donations to flood relief fund of 2018 and 2019.