Contribution for Corona in TN eligible as CSR expenditure

In a wake of COVID-19, around Rs 100 crore have been received as contribution to the Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund (CMPRF) from the Industries and Corporates towards coronavirus relief measures. The Tamil Nadu government has recently declared that all contributions to the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) for preventing COVID spread is eligible as CSR expenditure according to Centre’s order.

“The government needs the participation of industrialists, leading private companies, NGOs, donors and the people of Tamil Nadu to efficiently take precautions,” said Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami. The state government has directed that all contributions to CMPRF starting from March 24 to June 30 would be granted to SDMA and only used for activities to combat COVID-19 outbreak.

Organizations contributing for the cause will receive a receipt from the SDMA/State Relief Commissioner to qualify the amount under CSR. Receipts are also provided via e-mails by the state government once companies apply for it with details. The contributions received from non-resident Indians (NRIs) or foreigners are exempted under section 50 of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act 2010.

The Industries department has urged the companies to donate generously to CMPRF and back the efforts of the Government. They said it is important that all sections of the society come together and support the herculean efforts. There are around 1,372 active cases of COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu, 82 have recovered till now. Around a quarter of positive tested people have recovered and over 16 people succumbed.

Presently, the whole country is under a lockdown to break the chain of virus. There are over 2 million active cases of coronavirus across the world and more than 1 lakh deaths are reported.