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Par panel to finalise Direct Tax Code report by March 2
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance plans to finalise the draft report on Direct Tax Code (DTC) by March 2, which would be its final meeting on the issue before the Budget is presented on March 16.
According to official sources, the committee, which has been discussing the DTC (the new tax legislation which would replace the Income Tax Act, once it comes into existence) since the last six months, “may even finalise the report before the March 2 meeting, as around three more sittings are scheduled of the panel before the Budget Session begins next month”.
Though the committee had a meeting on Friday, senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, who chairs the panel, deferred it by a week as some of the members sought more time to study the direct tax issue in details.
“Some members were of the view that the new tax regime is a complex issue, they need more time to study it. Also if need arises, we may also ask the Finance Ministry to provide us with additional details about DTC, before the draft report is finalised,” a committee member told The Pioneer.
Amid speculations that the committee may raise the income tax exemption limit to Rs 3 lakh a year as against Rs 2 lakh annually which is proposed in the DTC Bill, the member said that the proposal is already a part of the draft report on new tax regime and it is among several other issues, which the panel members want to study in detail before finalising the report and for which they sought more time from Sinha during Friday’s meeting.
The panel would now meet on February 17 and it is expected that some of the issues which have been holding back the draft report on DTC (including the income tax exemption limit issue), may be discussed in that sitting. The committee is also scheduled to meet again on February 24, before its final meeting on March 2.
The committee’s urgency on finalising the DTC report stems from the fact that the Government is keen on rolling out the new regime from April 1, 2012 onwards. The DTC seeks to modernise tax laws in the country.
Apart from the income tax exemption limit, the draft report is also learnt to have suggested categorisation of the home and commercial property for the purpose of income tax.
The Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had tabled the DTC Bill in Lok Sabha in August last year and it was referred to the Standing Committee for scrutiny.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance plans to finalise the draft report on Direct Tax Code (DTC) by March 2, which would be its final meeting on the issue before the Budget is presented on March 16.
According to official sources, the committee, which has been discussing the DTC (the new tax legislation which would replace the Income Tax Act, once it comes into existence) since the last six months, “may even finalise the report before the March 2 meeting, as around three more sittings are scheduled of the panel before the Budget Session begins next month”.
Though the committee had a meeting on Friday, senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, who chairs the panel, deferred it by a week as some of the members sought more time to study the direct tax issue in details.
“Some members were of the view that the new tax regime is a complex issue, they need more time to study it. Also if need arises, we may also ask the Finance Ministry to provide us with additional details about DTC, before the draft report is finalised,” a committee member told The Pioneer.
Amid speculations that the committee may raise the income tax exemption limit to Rs 3 lakh a year as against Rs 2 lakh annually which is proposed in the DTC Bill, the member said that the proposal is already a part of the draft report on new tax regime and it is among several other issues, which the panel members want to study in detail before finalising the report and for which they sought more time from Sinha during Friday’s meeting.
The panel would now meet on February 17 and it is expected that some of the issues which have been holding back the draft report on DTC (including the income tax exemption limit issue), may be discussed in that sitting. The committee is also scheduled to meet again on February 24, before its final meeting on March 2.
The committee’s urgency on finalising the DTC report stems from the fact that the Government is keen on rolling out the new regime from April 1, 2012 onwards. The DTC seeks to modernise tax laws in the country.
Apart from the income tax exemption limit, the draft report is also learnt to have suggested categorisation of the home and commercial property for the purpose of income tax.
The Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had tabled the DTC Bill in Lok Sabha in August last year and it was referred to the Standing Committee for scrutiny.
