DTC Bill in current session of Parliament: Official

NEW DELHI: The government plans to introduce the Direct Taxes Code ( DTC) Bill, that will replace the archaic Income Tax Act, in the current Monsoon session of Parliament, a key finance ministry official said today.

"We do expect the DTC to be introduced in Parliament in this session," Revenue Secretary Sunil Mitra told reporters on the sidelines of a CII event.

The current session of Parliament ends on August 31. Mukherjee in his Budget speech had indicated the Centre's intention to implement the DTC from April 1, 2011.

After holding discussion with the industry and other stakeholders the government came out with a revised DTC draft in June.

The DTC, on which the government had invited public comments twice, will replace the archaic Income Tax Act, 1961.

DTC and Goods and Services Tax (GST) are the two major tax reforms that the government is aiming to introduce by April 1, 2011.

DTC aims at reducing tax rates, but expanding the tax base by minimising exemptions.

Last month Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had said the government would introduce the DTC Bill in the monsoon session of Parliament.

He said that the new direct tax law, which seeks to substantially change the direct taxes regime, will make "Indian trade and industry globally competitive."