The government today said the delay in implementation of General Anti Avoidance Rules (GAAR) will not impact the drive against black money and tax evasion.
"The delay in implantation of GAAR would not have a significant impact on the efficacy of measures being taken against proliferation of black money and checking tax evasion," Finance Minister P Chidambaram said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.
Introduction of GAAR, which was proposed in the Budget 2012-13 to check tax evasion, had triggered strong opposition by foreign investors following which its implementation was postponed till April 2013.
Following this, the Finance Ministry in June came out with draft guidelines on GAAR and had invited stakeholders comments on the same.
Later the Prime Minister set up an expert committee under ICRIER chief and taxation expert Parthasarathi Shome to hold fresh consultations on the controversial tax issue.
"Subsequent to placement of the GAAR guidelines in the public domain, 14 representations have been received from institutions/individuals," Chidambaram said, adding that the expert committee is examining the suggestions received from various stakeholders.
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"The Committee would undertake wider consultations on the guidelines and thereafter submit by September 30, 2012, the revised guidelines and a roadmap for implementation of GAAR to the government," he said.
In a separate reply to a question, Minister of State for Finance S S Palanimanickam said the taxation policy of the government strikes a balance between revenue needs and focus on inbound investment.
To a query on whether following the visits of Mauritius Foreign Minister and Prime Minister of Singapore the government plans to reverse its taxation policies, Palanimanickam said, "there is no reversal of the same".
He said the expert committee on GAAR is also examining the applicability of amendment on taxation of non-resident transfer of assets under the underlying asset is in India, in the context of Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs).