Country by Country Reporting (CbCR) – Penalty for non-furnishing of Country by Country report
Issue/Justification
Section 271GB of the Act prescribes stringent penalty for non-furnishing of Country by Country (CbyC) report as prescribed in section 286 by the due date.
The deadline for filing the CbyC report in India is 30 November 2017 for first covered FY 2016-17 i.e. only 8 months post the end of FY 2016-17 have been provided to the taxpayers to prepare and furnish the CbyC report.
Suggestion
There is a need to rationalise penalty for the filing requirements in the first year atleast as even OECD’s guidelines under BEPS Action Plan 13 provide for a 12 month period in the first year of filing. Accordingly, partial relief from the stringent penalties should be provided for the first year of CbyC report filing, such that penalty is applicable for CbyC report filed on or after 1 April 2018.
