Panel set up to upgrade India's tax regime

MUMBAI: The government has taken the first step to respond to the challenges of taxing transnational transactions by setting up an eight-member committee headed by Vijay Mathur, director general of income-tax (International Taxation), for studying and analysing issues relating to taxation of non-residents and make recommendation to the Indian tax authorities.
The decision was spurred by the need to keep pace with the changes taking place in international tax regimes. Hence, the committee’s first task is to study the major international tax issues, especially issues involved in taxing non-residents and to recommend the way these issues should be treated.
The members of the committee are GC Srivastava, joint secretary, CBDT, A J Majumdar, joint secretary , CBDT, P Mahalingam , CFO, TCS, P V Srinivasan, tax head, Wipro, T P Ostwal, a senior chartered accountant from Mumbai, Arvind Sonde, advocate Mumbai and Devendra Shankar, Director, CBDT (Member -secretary).
The terms and reference of the committee are to make recommendations on e-commerce characterisation, economic evaluation of presumptive tax/withholding tax rates, issues relating to transfer pricing, withholding tax application when the payer and payee are non-residents, taxation of partnerships and consortium of non-residents and pass through certificates (PTCs). The committee is expected to study and analyse any other issues relating to non-resident taxation as may be identified by the chairman of the central board of direct taxes or by the members of EITF.