General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR) has been deferred by a year. According to the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, GAAR provisions will be applicable only from April 2013. Also levy on all precious metals, branded or unbranded has been withdrawn.
The FM, in a statement to the parliament, has stated that GAAR will be applicable only from 2013-14 and that the finance ministry was amending the GAAR provision in the Finance Bill. Mukherjee has also clarified that the burden of proving tax evasion will be with the authorities and not with overseas investors. Further, the retrospective amendments to Income-tax Act will also not override DTAAs with 82 countries.
GAAR is aimed at curbing tax avoidance by structuring a business or carrying out a transaction with the objective of avoiding the tax liability instead of rational commercial considerations. The recent clarifications may spell good news for market investors as most of them have been hoping for a one-year delay for more clarity in guidelines and implementation.
Mukherjee has also stated that there will be no excise duty on purchase of jewellery valued Rs 5 lakh against earlier threshold of Rs 2 lakh. The move is expected to help in reducing the increasing price of the metal.
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