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ET观点:埋葬复古税鬼的大胆举动

该法案在人民院提出,废除了2012年5月28日之前印度资产间接转移交易的征税要求。该法律将适用于未来:如果出售外国公司股票的收益直接或间接地从位于印度的资产中获得价值,则该股票将在印度征税。这很有道理。

政府修改所得税法以埋葬追溯征税的幽灵的决定是务实和大胆的。它将结束与公司的长期诉讼,如凯恩能源公司而且沃达丰(Vodafone),有助于恢复投资者信心。该法案在人民院提出,废除了2012年5月28日之前印度资产间接转移交易的征税要求。该法律将适用于未来:如果出售外国公司股票的收益直接或间接地从位于印度的资产中获得价值,则该股票将在印度征税。这很有道理。

2012年,联合进步联盟的财政部长普拉纳布·慕克吉(Pranab Mukherjee)对税法提出了最初的修正案最高法院该命令取消了对沃达丰印度的117.92亿卢比的征税要求,随后罚款790亿卢比。曾批评政府的全国民主联盟在其第一个任期内没有取消追溯税。虽然沃达丰赢得了仲裁裁决常设仲裁法院在海牙,政府不接受裁决。通过现在取消追溯性澄清,沃达丰的税收要求被取消。

凯恩在该公司的案例中,该公司已将不同集团的油气资产整合到凯恩印度2006年,得到了外国投资促进委员会该公司在印度进行首次公开发行(ipo)。最终受益所有权没有变化,但英国税务局在2012年的追溯澄清中援引了对凯恩重组征收资本利得税的要求。在政府未能履行有利于凯恩能源的国际仲裁裁决后,该公司扣押了印度在法国的国有资产,以收回17亿美元仲裁裁决的一部分。印度作为投资目的地的声誉正在受到损害。现在,政府,提出了武断的要求,将与凯恩解决会费。其他15起类似的税务要求也将得到解决。

当然,事后看来,政府承认,追溯性修订有悖于税收确定性原则。的从事Shome委员会在UPA政权期间强调了这一点。但取消追溯税意味着采取了一个大胆的政治呼吁,财政部长Nirmala Sitharaman女士值得称赞。

有一些机构旨在为投资者提供税收确定性。其中包括转让定价相关事宜的预先定价管理局(APA),以及告诉那些寻求明确纳税义务的人的预先裁决管理局(AAR)(阅读资格以利用各种税收规划机会,并得出适用于他们的税率)。这些机构必须更好地运作,变得更加强健。

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The government\u2019s decision to amend the income tax law to bury the ghost of retrospective taxation is pragmatic and bold. It will end the protracted litigation with companies such as Cairn Energy<\/a> and Vodafone<\/a>, helping restore investor confidence. The Bill, introduced in the Lok Sabha, nullifies the tax demand on the indirect transfer of Indian assets on transactions prior to 28 May 2012. The law will apply prospectively: gains from the sale of shares of a foreign company will be taxable in India if such shares, directly or indirectly, derive value from assets located in India. This makes eminent sense.

The original amendment to the tax law brought in by Pranab Mukherjee as finance minister of the UPA in 2012 overturned a
Supreme Court<\/a> order that had negated a tax demand on Vodafone India amounting to Rs 11,792 crore and subsequent penalty of Rs 7,900 crore. The NDA, which had criticised the government, did not reverse the retrospective tax during its first tenure. Although Vodafone won the arbitration award at the the Permanent Court of Arbitration<\/a> at The Hague, the government did not accept the verdict. By nullifying the retrospective clarification now, the tax demand on Vodafone gets dropped.

In
Cairn<\/a>\u2019s case, the company had consolidated different group hydrocarbon assets under Cairn India<\/a> in 2006, with a nod from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board<\/a>, prior to its Indian initial public offering. There was no change in the ultimate beneficial ownership, and yet the tax office invoked, in the retrospective clarification of 2012 to demand capital gains tax on the Cairn reorganization. After the government failed to honour the international arbitral award in favour of Cairn, the company seized Indian state-owned properties in France to recover a slice of the $1.7 billion arbitration award. India's reputation as an investment destination was getting tarnished. Now, the government, that raised an arbitrary demand, will settle the dues with Cairn. Fifteen other cases where similar tax demands have been raised will also be settled.