Wednesday, 5 September 2012

GAAR should be deferred for 3 years (Ay 16-17):Expert Committee



The Government had constituted an Expert Committee on General Anti Avoidance Rules (GAAR) to undertake stakeholder consultations and finalise the GAAR guidelines as well as a roadmap for implementation.

The Committee, chaired by Dr. Parthasarathi Shome, has submitted its draft report after analysis of the GAAR provisions and noting the concerns expressed by various shareholders. The draft report has recommended certain amendments in the Income-tax Act, 1961; guidelines to be prescribed under the Income-tax Rules, 1962; circular to clarify GAAR provisions along with illustrations; and other measures to improve tax administration specifically oriented towards GAAR matters.

The report of the Committee has been uploaded on the Finance Ministry’s website (http://finmin.nic.in) for comments from stakeholders and the general public.

The comments and suggestions on the draft report may be submitted by 15th September, 2012 at the email address (jstpl2@nic.in) or by post at the address: Joint Secretary (Tax Policy & Legislation-II), Room No.152, North Block, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, North Block, New Delhi – 110001 with “Comments on GAAR Committee” written on the envelope.

Scope of the Terms of Reference of the Expert Committee Headed by Dr. Parthasarathi Shome on Gaar Expanded to Include all Non-Resident Tax Payers Instead of Only FIIs 

The Standing Committee on Finance has presented its report on Current Economic Situation and Policy Options to Parliament on August 30, 2012. The Committee has inter alia found that the investment climate in the country has suffered serious setback and investors confidence has been hit mainly because of the concerns over the impact of retrospective tax laws and new General Anti Avoidance Rules(GAAR). 

The Government had constituted an Expert Committee headed by Dr. Parthasarathi Shome on GAAR on July 13, 2012. The Committee has now submitted its draft report, which has been placed in public domain on September 1, 2012 for seeking suggestions/opinion of the various stakeholders. 

The Government had earlier on August 6, 2012 also requested the Expert Committee to examine the applicability of the amendment on taxation of non-resident transfer of assets where the underlying asset is in India, in the context of Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) operating in India purely for portfolio investment. It has now been decided to expand the scope of the Terms of Reference of the Committee to include all non-resident tax payers instead of only FIIs.


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