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Since a discussion on gaar has been going on the last thread, let me ask about gaar
What is GAAR? How does it effect tax treaties with other countries? Who is the chairman of the panel setup by the PM to review gaar proposals? What is the mandate of the is panel?
GAAR stands for general anti-avoidance rules.its provisions gives a tax inspector the power to question and label any transaction ever done by a company as tax avoidance and the company will have to prove itself innocent.
it ws introduced in the 2012 finance bill and it is said that it will prevent the use of Mauritius as tax haven.
(India gives tax exemptions to Mauritius and hence many companies invest in india through an entity set up in Mauritius)
however, owing to the concerns regarding harassment of investors by tax autorities, PM has postponed its roll out by a year.
the chairman of the panel is parthsarthi shome who worked for IMF for two decades.
Due to DTAA which India have with numerous countries e.g. mauritius, singapore etc., most Foriegn investors are attracted to invest in indian market through this countries so that they can escape taxes imposed on investors.
This has resulted in the government losing huge amount revenue.Since april 2000, 38% of FDI has come from mauritius alone, singapore being the next favorite used destination.
Govt has been pressing mauritius for overhauling the treaty to which till date there's been persistant resistance.
On the wake of this impasse, FM in budget 2012-13 announced GAAR which will,if implemented undo the ills of previous treaties.it is to be noted that GAAR will not override the provisions of DTAA per se.
GAAR aims to target tax evaders, partly by stopping indian companies and investors from routing investments through mauritius or other tax havens solely on the purpose of avoiding tax.
A four member committee has been setup by PM 2-3 days back. The chairman of the panel- Parthasarathi Shome
Mandates of the panel: 1.To undertake stakeholder consultation and finalise norms on this issue.
[Edited] General-Anti-Avoidance Rules has been introduced in India after Vodafone case ruling wherein India could ask Vodafone to pay capital gains tax for the sale of the telecom service from Hutch to Vodafone.
The Supreme Court says this this was more to what was written in the law rather a matter of principle. The GAAR proposed would have the following provisions.
- Indian Government is trying to give powers to income tax authorities as implementation of GAAR provides tremendous powers to deny tax benefit to an entity if a transaction has been carried with the sole intention of tax avoidance. Due to powers in the hand of taxmen, now innocents may be harassed by them.
- FII & FDI money coming to India through Mauritius route will now become taxable.
- There has been a proposal that the onus lies on the assesse to prove that there is no tax benefit and the transaction is not an avoidance transaction.
More than 40% of India’s FDI comes from Mauritius. Companies avoiding tax set up post box offices in Mauritius and invest in India.
When one invests in the market and then tries to reap benefit by selling stocks, he has to pay capital gains tax. But by the Double Taxation Avoidance Treaty (DTAA), capital gain taxes will be paid in only one country.
Since the company is setup in Mauritius, the company is supposed to pay capital gains taxes there. But then there is no capital gain taxes in Mauritius, so many companies abuse this loophole to invest in India but avoiding taxes.
Since it was difficult to amend the DTAA, GAAR has been proposed to override the DTAA and ensure that taxes are paid.
[Editor's Note: This post has been edited to make it easier to read. Please write text intensive posts in paragraphs leaving enough no. of blank lines for better readability.]
-Its not enforced in Vodafone case. The Vodafone case in a case of IT Act amended with retrospective effect. @soap_bend, please note the correction. Correct me if I am wrong. We read so much news, it ends up mixing up.
- GAAR were notified by the finance ministry last month. Was to be applicable since then
- Markets slumped. FIIs withdrew money for reasons everyone above has specified.
-Fin Min Pranab Da resigns to contest Presidential Election
-PM Manmohan Singh takes charge of FinMin
-Visit of Singapore PM and Mauritius Foreign Minister in 1 week's time. Singapore+ Mauritius account for 51% of capital inflow in India for obvious reasons, as specified by above posts
-They both claim investment sentiment for India is down due to GAAR. PM reiterates FM's statement of last month that GAAR will not override DTAA, [he was ambiguous then, and local taxmen might harass because they implement GAAR not DTAA]
- PM Manmohan Singh scraps the notification of GAAR last month
-PM appoints Parthasarathi Shome to frame GAAR new rules by September.
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Comments
GAAR stands for general anti-avoidance rules.its provisions gives a tax inspector the power to question and label any transaction ever done by a company as tax avoidance and the company will have to prove itself innocent.
it ws introduced in the 2012 finance bill and it is said that it will prevent the use of Mauritius as tax haven.
(India gives tax exemptions to Mauritius and hence many companies invest in india through an entity set up in Mauritius)
however, owing to the concerns regarding harassment of investors by tax autorities, PM has postponed its roll out by a year.
the chairman of the panel is parthsarthi shome who worked for IMF for two decades.
This has resulted in the government losing huge amount revenue.Since april 2000, 38% of FDI has come from mauritius alone, singapore being the next favorite used destination.
Govt has been pressing mauritius for overhauling the treaty to which till date there's been persistant resistance.
On the wake of this impasse, FM in budget 2012-13 announced GAAR which will,if implemented undo the ills of previous treaties.it is to be noted that GAAR will not override the provisions of DTAA per se.
GAAR aims to target tax evaders, partly by stopping indian companies and investors from routing investments through mauritius or other tax havens solely on the purpose of avoiding tax.
A four member committee has been setup by PM 2-3 days back.
The chairman of the panel- Parthasarathi Shome
Mandates of the panel:
1.To undertake stakeholder consultation and finalise norms on this issue.
2.To submit the report by 30 Sept 2012.
General-Anti-Avoidance Rules has been introduced in India after Vodafone case ruling wherein India could ask Vodafone to pay capital gains tax for the sale of the telecom service from Hutch to Vodafone.
The Supreme Court says this this was more to what was written in the law rather a matter of principle. The GAAR proposed would have the following provisions.
- Indian Government is trying to give powers to income tax authorities as implementation of GAAR provides tremendous powers to deny tax benefit to an entity if a transaction has been carried with the sole intention of tax avoidance. Due to powers in the hand of taxmen, now innocents may be harassed by them.
- FII & FDI money coming to India through Mauritius route will now become taxable.
- There has been a proposal that the onus lies on the assesse to prove that there is no tax benefit and the transaction is not an avoidance transaction.
More than 40% of India’s FDI comes from Mauritius. Companies avoiding tax set up post box offices in Mauritius and invest in India.
When one invests in the market and then tries to reap benefit by selling stocks, he has to pay capital gains tax. But by the Double Taxation Avoidance Treaty (DTAA), capital gain taxes will be paid in only one country.
Since the company is setup in Mauritius, the company is supposed to pay capital gains taxes there. But then there is no capital gain taxes in Mauritius, so many companies abuse this loophole to invest in India but avoiding taxes.
Since it was difficult to amend the DTAA, GAAR has been proposed to override the DTAA and ensure that taxes are paid.
[Editor's Note: This post has been edited to make it easier to read. Please write text intensive posts in paragraphs leaving enough no. of blank lines for better readability.]
- GAAR was proposed in Budget speech 2012-13
- It wasnt in enforced then.
-Its not enforced in Vodafone case. The Vodafone case in a case of IT Act amended with retrospective effect. @soap_bend, please note the correction. Correct me if I am wrong. We read so much news, it ends up mixing up.
- GAAR were notified by the finance ministry last month. Was to be applicable since then
- Markets slumped. FIIs withdrew money for reasons everyone above has specified.
-Fin Min Pranab Da resigns to contest Presidential Election
-PM Manmohan Singh takes charge of FinMin
-Visit of Singapore PM and Mauritius Foreign Minister in 1 week's time. Singapore+ Mauritius account for 51% of capital inflow in India for obvious reasons, as specified by above posts
-They both claim investment sentiment for India is down due to GAAR. PM reiterates FM's statement of last month that GAAR will not override DTAA, [he was ambiguous then, and local taxmen might harass because they implement GAAR not DTAA]
- PM Manmohan Singh scraps the notification of GAAR last month
-PM appoints Parthasarathi Shome to frame GAAR new rules by September.
-Thus it was scrapped before it came into effect.
I stand corrected. That's the problem typing out of memory.