The year 2020 was marred and disfigured by the widespread effect of the COVID-19 pandemic world over which literally strangulated the growth of majority of the promising economies including India.
The government virtually followed the holistic and pragmatic approach and accordingly infused economic stimulus by introducing one of the largest economic packages popularly called the `Atamnirbhar Bharat’ with the intent to raise the criterion from being a sluggish economy to a vibrant one. Statistically, with nearly a projected growth rate of about 11.5%, the International Monetary Fund listed India as perhaps one of the selective major economies of the world to register a double digit growth.
The Budget 2021 as was so expected to introduce a line of incentives to boost the myriad sectors of the economy as a whole and to achieve the so-called projected growth rate for the year 2021’, stressed the decriminalization of the Limited Liability Partnerships modules, emphasized strengthening of the virtual/e-courts, monetization of surplus land available with the government, rationalize centrally sponsored schemes & the tribunals, working out a first-ever digital census for the country to setting up of administrative structure in case of Cooperative societies.
From taxes point of view, restructuring of residential status in case of NRI’s from 182 days to 120 in order to attract foreign investment, curtailing the time span of reopening of assessments from the present 6/10 years regime to 3 years regime unless element of concealment/fraud warranted, setting up of Faceless Dispute Resolution Committee and Faceless Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), framing up of rules with the intent to remove disparity in claim of foreign tax credits for foreign nationals, enhancing tax audit limit to Rs.10 crores from the present 5 crores in digitally transacted entries to the tune of 95% and above, tax exemption to notified rental projects, pre-filing of returns in respect of specified parameters, reducing compliance burden of charitable educational trust, age-based relaxation in filing of return in the case of senior citizens above the age of 75 years with an income from interest and pension, disallowance of belated deposit of employees contribution to labour funds by the employer are perhaps some of the prominent steps initiated in the non-adversarial direct tax league by the government.
However keeping in view the present scenario, a lot could have been done by streamlining and relaxing the corporate tax rates apart from providing impetus to the quantum of deductions/tax slabs by further enhancing the monetary limit set over a period of time.
Sameer Bhatia,
Advocate, Punjab & Haryana High Court, Email- adv.sameerbhatia@gmail.com Contact No: 9041304900 / 9814218476
