Govt sees 50% rise in FBT mop-up in ’06-07

NEW DELHI: The government said on Tuesday that it expects a 50% increase in fringe benefit tax (FBT) collection during ’06-07.

The revenue department expects a collection in the range of Rs 4,000-5,000 crore this year compared with last fiscal’s Rs 3,000 crore, revenue secretary KM Chandrashekhar told reporters here.

He also said that FBT is not a complex tax as is being perceived and that the government will continue to make life simpler for the salaried class. He, however, said that the salaried class will not be exempted from filing returns.

He made the comments at the release of a guidance note on auditing of FBT, developed by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). The note guides chartered accountants how to certify the value of fringe benefits in form 3 CD as part of tax audit.

Corporates and large firms have to file their tax audit reports of FY06 by this month-end.The new guidance gives detailed instructions to chartered accountants about the audit approach and their reporting responsibilities.

It is the primary responsibility of the assessee to prepare the necessary details in the annexure 2 of the form and the tax auditor has to verify it. To determine whether a specified expenditure is liable for FBT, its natural meaning has to be considered. The note also details the approach to be followed when the auditor differs from the assessee and when he wants to qualify the audit report or to give a disclaimer or a negative report.

The note also discusses the implications of FBT legislation on cross-border transactions. The government had notified the revised audit form 3CD to include the auditor's report on FBT and on tax deducted at source on August 10, ’06. ICAI has been instrumental in evolving the new form after the government introduced FBT in ’05.