Govt buries retrospective tax, introduces Bill to amend Income Tax Act

Bill to scrap the law tabled; proposed refund at around Rs 8,100 crore

Putting an end to the contentious retrospective tax law that hit the confidence of foreign investors, including Vodafone and Cairn, for years, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday introduced a Bill in Parliament to nullify the provision in the Income Tax Act.

The government has also proposed to refund the amount paid in litigation by companies without any interest thereon. Finance Secretary T V Somanathan told Business Standard that the total amount involved for all cases is about Rs 8,100 crore, of which about Rs 7,900 crore is related to the Cairn dispute.

The Bill would withdraw the retrospective amendments