Easwar panel submits 2nd report on I-T laws to Jaitley

Justice RV Easwar, who heads a high-level committee on simplification of income tax laws, today submitted his second report to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

To simplify the provisions of the Income-tax Act, 1961, a Committee under the chairmanship of Justice Easwar was constituted on October 27, 2015.

The Committee was entrusted with the broad objectives of studying and identifying the provisions/phrases in the I-T Act that result in litigation due to misinterpretations.

Also it was to assess the impact of tax laws on ease of doing business, and to suggest alternatives and modifications to existing provisions to bring about predictability and certainty in tax laws without substantial impact on the tax base and revenue collection.

The Committee, in its first report which was made public in January, 2016, had recommended simplifying provisions related to tax deducted at source (TDS), claims of expenditure for deduction from taxable income and for tax refunds.

The Committee had divided its recommendations in two broad parts -- those requiring amendments to the Act; and those which can be implemented through issue of circulars, administrative instructions, etc.