No tax liability on P-note holders; more clarification in due course: FM

30 Mar 2012 Evaluate

Participatory notes (P-notes) will not be taxed, but financial investors issuing these P-Notes will be. This clarification was provided by the Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee.  Also the FM has categorically stated that the government is not interested in taxing genuine investors.

As per Pranab Mukherjee, ‘Indian tax authority would not go beyond financial investor (FIIs) to check the details about the P-Note holders. Accordingly, a question of liability for tax in India of the P-Note holder would not arise. Necessary clarification will be issued’. Further the tax liability of the FIIs will be determined by the Income tax department.

P-Notes are instruments that allow foreign institutional investors (FIIs), which are not registered with market regulator SEBI, to invest in the Indian equity market. The catch is that they offer the buyer anonymity.

The recent Budget proposals under General Anti-avoidance rules (GAAR) were interpreted to mean that the income on P-note is taxable with retrospective effect in India as the income arises due to the sale of an underlying asset, which has its presence in India. If true it would mean that the government would track the down the actual investor in possession of the P-note and tax him. But the recent clarification has laid these fears to rest.

A lack of clarity on taxation of P-notes has contributed to the recent volatility in the domestic share market. However the assurance has now pushed the markets up.

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