Section 80-IA of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (ITA) deals with tax holidays for eligible businesses. Sub-section (5) of section 80-IA of ITA provides that for the purpose of determining the quantum of the deduction, the profits of the eligible business shall be computed as if such eligible business were the only source of income of the taxpayer. This deeming fiction is applicable from the initial assessment year i.e. the first year of claim of the deduction.
Domestic companies routing their investments through Mauritius may soon have to pay capital gains tax as the tax authorities are pressing for checking the misuse of the tax treaty with the island nation. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) suspects that the government is losing large amount of revenue due to routing of investments by domestic firms through Mauritius.
Indians, staying in the US, could in next three months avail tax concession on the money they will spend on social welfare projects at their native places in India. Under the ‘India Development Foundation for Overseas Indians’, an initiative of Ministry of Overseas Indians, they will get tax exemption if they want to build schools, primary health centres and other infrastructure in their villages and places of origin in India.
The Finance Ministry indicated that the revised Direct Taxes Code draft may stick to denying tax sops to special economic zones (SEZs), even as Commerce Minister Anand Sharma assured that the interests of investors will be protected.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said the Reserve Bank will decide on a further hike in its lending and borrowing rates at the quarterly review meeting on July 27. “The RBI Board will come up with its policy on July 27. Let us wait till then,” Mukherjee told newspersons here when asked whether there would be any further hike in the repo and reverse repo rates of the RBI.
The plain reading of the income tax provisions dealing with determination of residential status of an individual indicates that beneficial provisions relaxing the tax residency will apply to an Indian citizen leaving India for the purpose of employment and not otherwise. In the above case, the AAR has applied the above beneficial provisions even in the year when the individual returns back to India.
The Finance (No.2) Act of 2009 introduced section 206AA under the Income Tax Act, 1961 (the ITA) to provide that any person who is entitled to receive any sum or income or amount, on which tax is to be withheld under the ITA shall furnish PAN to the person responsible for withholding of tax. In case PAN is not furnished, minimum withholding tax rate of 20% will have to be applied. This provision is now effective from1 April 2010.
The Interest Tax Act, 1974 specifically includes discounting charges in the definition of interest, however interest defined under ITA does not include discounting charges. Wherever the legislature was conscious of the fact that even the discount of bills of exchange is to be included within the definition of interest, the same was basically so provided for, hence the omission of these words in the definition provided under the ITA, enumerates the intention of the legislator to keep the same out of the ambit of „interest? under the ITA. The same rationale is also laid down in the Circular no. 652 issued by Central Board of Direct Taxes in relation to section 1 94A of ITA.
This is yet another decision on the issue of whether the deputation of personnel by an overseas entity results in Permanent Establishment in India and the related attribution of profit and withholding tax issues.
The decision of tribunal reaffirms the position that after amendment to section 9 of the Act, what is required is that, the services should be utilized in India in order to be taxable in India irrespective of the situs of rendering of the services.
