[PLUG] ITR e-filing on Linux

[jayant ogale]

> Message: 2
> Date: Thu, 27 May 2010 19:36:57 +0530
> From: Arun Khan <knura9 at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [PLUG] ITR e-filing on Linux
> To: "Pune GNU/Linux Users Group Mailing List" <plug-mail at plug.org.in>
> Message-ID:
>     <AANLkTilXCHM5wJAfmKbqepfKH7YV6s9ybjmhkUN7KXbu at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
> 
> On Thu, May 27, 2010 at 6:49 PM, Mayuresh <mayuresh at acm.org>
> wrote:
> > Income tax department provides MS Excel based software
> (Excel sheets) for
> > preparing income tax returns on this page:
> >
> > https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/portal/individual_huf.do
> >
> > They state MS Excel as a system requirement for using
> this.
> >
> > If anyone has tried/succeeded in e-filing returns
> using this software on
> > Linux (using Openoffice / otherwise) please do post
> your experience.
> >
> > I could see that the file seems to open fine in oocalc
> and I could also
> > enable Macros which were disabled by default. Worry is
> more about
> > following aspects:
> >
> > - Functioning of all macros properly (non-working of
> some of which may
> > ?cause data integrity issues. Worse if such issues are
> hard to notice.)
> > - Generation of a "valid" xml file that will be
> loadable correctly on
> > ?e-filing website.
> 
> With the Indian e-Governance scene, typically the "aam
> janta" has no
> choice in this matter.   S/he is caught in a
> catch-22 situation -
> heads they win, tails you loose.
> 
> You can protest with the authorities, it they at all get
> back to you -
> the response will be "Everyone is using Windows and MS
> Office, aapke
> paas Windows nahi hai?"
> 
> There is some discussion going on about using open
> standards which
> includes document format but let's see how it
> progresses.   This is
> the kind of thing that encourages software piracy in my
> opinion.  In
> this case the Govt. is mandating it's citizens to use MS
> Windows
> desktop and the MS Office suite; kind of an endorsement of
> MS
> products)
> 
> I end up using my accountants Windows desktop to do such
> activities - YMMV.
> 
> -- Arun Khan
you can submit a writ petition under MRTP act against this indirect compaltion, in the interest of public. the million doller question is who will do this?