Budget over, time to get tax code right

Having finished with the Budget exercise, the revenue department's focus will now shift to the proposed direct tax code, being pitched as a comprehensive makeover of the existing tax law.

Revenue Secretary K M Chandrasekhar said work on the code had been completed.

"Once the finance minister approves of the code, it will be sent to the law ministry for vetting. Subsequently, it will go to the Cabinet, following which it will be tabled in Parliament. A time-frame for this exercise has not been set, but the expectation is that it will take the better part of this year," he said.

Explaining the key tenets of the proposed code, Chandrasekhar said the intent was to simplify the existing voluminous tax provisions.

"The language will be simpler, one that is easy for those who are not acquainted with tax matters, and devoid of jargon and complexity associated with existing provisions," he added.

It is expected that the code will be free of mathematical principles and instead, have a precise formulae.

The third key tenet would be the codification of all provisions related to exemptions. At the moment, they are spread all over the Income-Tax Act. These have now been codified and put in one section.

Chandrasekhar said the entire document would be put up for public discussion. "We will ensure widespread discussions on it", he said.

The FM in his Budget speech mentioned that a comprehensive reviewal of direct taxes would await the proposed Income-Tax Code. He laid emphasis on tax reform combined with tax administration.

An expert committee under the chairmanship of Arbind Modi, joint secretary, Central Board of Direct Taxes, had submitted its report on a new tax law in September, 2006.

The report on simplification of the income-tax law has combined all the existing direct taxes such as the income-tax, wealth tax and fringe benefit tax into one code known as Direct Tax Code Bill.