Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during a press conference in New Delhi, Friday, Aug 23, 2019. (PTI photo)
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during a press conference in New Delhi, Friday, Aug 23, 2019. (PTI photo)
New Delhi, August 23 (IANS) Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said that tax authorities do not have to overreach or harass as the tax targets set in the Budget are well within achievable limits.
The minister's assertions came at a meeting here in which she announced a slew of steps to boost growth via reform measures. The minister also announced that the government would introduce "faceless" scrutiny of tax liabilities of individuals and corporates.
Lately India Inc has called for measures to curb "tax terrorism".
Sitharaman said she has met several state tax officials and urged them not to stress on tax liabilities. She would also meet tax officials across the country and convey the message.
She said technology can be used to monitor tax payments and liabilities, which should be used by the authorities.
Announcing introduction of "faceless" scrutiny, the minister said from the upcoming Vijaya Dashami in October, no tax official will have to physically visit any individual for tax summons and monitoring.
She said that tax notices and summons without a computer generated unique ID number would not be valid. This measure would help curb unauthorised tax summons.
She said all pending IT notices will be disposed of within three months from the date of reply, adding all pending income tax notices till now will be resolved by October 1, 2019.
Additionally, IT notices will be sent through centralised computer system from October 1, 2019.
In a big relief to start-ups, the minister withdrew 'angel tax' provision for startups and their investors.
On violation of corporate social responsibility norms, the Minister said such violations would not be treated as criminal offence. Prosecution will be replaced with a more humane approach and wealth creators will be honoured and respected, she added.
Big relief for markets as controversial FPI levy rolled back
Mumbai, Aug 23 (IANS) Indian capital and currency markets are poised for a strong recovery after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday announced the roll back of the contentious tax surcharge on the Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPIs) announced in the Budget last month.
"The enhanced surcharge levied by Finance Act, 2019, on long and short term capital gains tax is being withdrawn," Sitharaman said in a special media briefing here.
The situation has been restored to the pre-budget level, she added.
Sensex and Nifty might gain over 1 per cent on Monday and chances are that the Sensex may scale past the 38,000 mark in a fortnight, Deepak Jasani of HDFC Securities said.
Jasani, however, added that investors will still be cautious owing to the GDP figures to be announced on August 30. Besides, much also depends on the corporate earnings growth, which is currently poor.
The surcharge, along with concerns over slowdown in economic growth, caused a massive outflow of foreign funds. Withdrawal of over Rs 16,000 crore was witnessed in the month of July, which was one of the worst outflows ever from the Indian capital markets.
Since the Budget, the benchmark index, Sensex had fallen over 3,000 points - after it had touched a life-time high of 40,000 - over weak economic growth forecast and outflow of FPI money, a key driver of Indian capital markets.
"Withdrawal of the surcharge on FPIs is a shot in the arm for the sagging market. One can now expect reversal of the FPI selling. The market is likely to look up from now on," said V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
Vijayakumar, however, added that sustained rally in the market will happen only when they have visibility on good earnings growth and reversal of the slowdown underway in the economy. "This requires more reforms. The FM has announced that she will come back with more reforms soon. So, there is hope."
Rajesh H Gandhi, Partner, Deloitte India said: "This is a very positive development which would give a fillip to the capital markets. Tax rates for FPIs will come down by 4 per cent to 7 per cent back to the pre-Budget levels and this removes the anomaly created by the Budget 2019. This also shows that the Government is sensitive to the concerns of industry."
Gandhi added that this announcement also benefits domestic investors like individuals and AIFs because it seems that the relaxation has been announced for all capital gains earned on listed investments.
