Skip to main content

TASK FORCE TO DRAFT NEW DIRECT TAX LAW

By
TASK FORCE TO DRAFT NEW DIRECT TAX LAW
The government has brought back the main author of the now junked Direct Taxes Code (DTC) as a convenor of the task force to review the decade sold provisions of the IncomeTax Act and draft a replacement. The government has, however, already implemented many provisions of the draft DTC, such as the General Anti Avoidance Rules (GAAR) and on Place of Effective Management.
The government has constituted a six member panel to take forward Prime Minister Narendra Modi´s call for replacing the ITAct,aweek after it notified an overhaul of the goods and services tax (GST). The panel has been asked to submit report within six months.
Arbind Modi, member (legislation) of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), is convenor of the task force. Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian will be a permanent special invitee.Rajiv Memani, chairman and regional managing partner, India region, EY, who was named member of the task force, said,"The government continues to undertake bold yet muchneeded reforms.
This stead fast focus will enhance India´s competitiveness and make the country future ready."The panel will draft direct tax legislation, keeping in mind the system in other countries, international best practices and economic needs of the country, say the terms of reference.
Neeru Ahuja of consultancy Deloitte India recalled the earlier occasion the government tried to rewrite the Act, in 2010, the DTC was the outcome."Ironically, significant changes which were proposed in the DTC have since been incorporated in the Act over the years.
A lot of movement has happened in the tax world since then, the most important being (on) BEPS (base erosion and profit shifting)," she said. Frank D´Souza of consultants PwC said with the experience of DTC, it would be interesting to see how this attempt would unfold.
"Clearly, the need to have the law more relevant to the current economic and business environment is very much there." Sanjay Sanghvi of Khaitan &Co felt present law already contained most of the international best practices —GAAR, transfer pricing, BEPS and so on. "It would be helpful if the new tax law emphasises more reasonable and fair administration of the laws, to address the concerns on uncertainties and needless litigation," he said.
The Business Standard, New Delhi, 23th November 2017

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Household debt up, but India still lags emerging-market economies: RBI

By
  Although household debt in India is rising, driven by increased borrowing from the financial sector, it remains lower than in other emerging-market economies (EMEs), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in its Financial Stability Report. It added that non-housing retail loans, largely taken for consumption, accounted for 55 per cent of total household debt.As of December 2024, India’s household debt-to-gross domestic product ratio stood at 41.9 per cent. “...Non-housing retail loans, which are mostly used for consumption purposes, formed 54.9 per cent of total household debt as of March 2025 and 25.7 per cent of disposable income as of March 2024. Moreover, the share of these loans has been growing consistently over the years, and their growth has outpaced that of both housing loans and agriculture and business loans,” the RBI said in its report.Housing loans, by contrast, made up 29 per cent of household debt, and their growth has remained steady. However, disaggregated data sho...
Post a Comment
Read more

External spillovers likely to hit India's financial system: RBI report

By
  While India’s growth remains insulated from global headwinds mainly due to buoyant domestic demand, the domestic financial system could, however, be impacted by external spillovers, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in its half yearly Financial Stability Report published on Monday.Furthermore, the rising global trade disputes and intensifying geopolitical hostilities could negatively impact the domestic growth outlook and reduce the demand for bank credit, which has decelerated sharply. “Moreover, it could also lead to increased risk aversion among investors and further corrections in domestic equity markets, which despite the recent correction, remain at the high end of their historical range,” the report said.It noted that there is some build-up of stress, primarily in financial markets, on account of global spillovers, which is reflected in the marginal rise in the financial system stress indicator, an indicator of the stress level in the financial system, compared to its p...
Post a Comment
Read more

Retail inflation cools to a six-year low of 2.82% in May on moderating food prices

By
  New Delhi: Retail inflation in India cooled to its lowest level in over six years in May, helped by a sharp moderation in food prices, according to provisional government data released Thursday.Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation eased to 2.82% year-on-year, down from 3.16% in April and 4.8% in May last year, data from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) showed. This marks the fourth consecutive month of sub-4% inflation, the longest such streak in at least five years.The data comes just days after the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee cut the repo rate by 50 basis points to 5.5%, its third straight cut and a cumulative reduction of 100 basis points since the easing cycle began in February. The move signals a possible pivot from inflation control to supporting growth.Food inflation came in at just 0.99% in May, down from 1.78% in April and a sharp decline from 8.69% a year ago.A Mint poll of 15 economists had projected CPI ...
Post a Comment
Read more