The Union Finance Ministry on Monday invited public comments and suggestions for revising the Income-Tax Act, which was announced in this year’s Budget.
Comments are sought on four categories: Simplifying language, reducing litigation, reducing compliance, and obsolete/obsolete provisions.
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The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), under the ministry, has set up an internal committee to look into the revision.
“The goal is to make this Act shorter, clearer, and easier to understand, which will reduce disputes, litigation, and provide greater tax certainty to taxpayers,” said the Ministry of Finance in a statement.
However, it did not provide details about the committee.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget speech this year announced the revision of the Act.
“It was our effort to simplify the tax. We have taken several steps over the last few years including the introduction of simplified tax regimes with no exemptions and deductions for corporate tax and personal tax. This is appreciated by taxpayers. 58 percent of corporate tax comes from the simplified tax system in the 2022-23 financial year. Similarly, according to the data available so far in the last financial year, more than two-thirds have used the new personal tax system,” he said.
The department’s statement said: “Proposals must specify the relevant provision of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 or the Income-Tax Rules, 1962 (refer to the specific section, clause, sub-section, rule, sub-rule, or form number), as the case may be , a proposal relating to them under the four sections mentioned above.”
Tax experts are of the opinion that the government’s campaign supports transparency in tax policy making.
“This is not only an unprecedented opportunity for businesses to participate in the development of the tax law, which will govern them in the future, and will provide policy makers with sufficient scope for their innovative approach. The upcoming tax law will be an important pillar of India’s macroeconomic future, and it is critical that the process used to develop this law is thorough, transparent and fair,” said Sumit Singhania, partner, Deloitte India.
Maneesh Bawa, partner at Nangia Andersen India, said: “This multi-stakeholder approach aims to address the practical challenges faced by taxpayers, accountants, and legal professionals, to ensure that their real-world knowledge helps in reforming.”
First published: October 07 2024 | 11:06 PM IST
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