A Committee on Direct Tax Matters chaired by Justice A.P.Shah , was constituted to examine the issue of applicability of Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) on FIIs/FPIs for the period prior to 01.04.2015. The Committee has submitted its Final Report to the Government on 25.08.2015. The Committee has recommended that Section 115JB of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (‘Act’) may be amended to clarify the inapplicability of the provisions of Section 115JB to FIIs/FPIs having no permanent establishment (PE)/place of business in India. The Government has accepted the said recommendation and it has been decided to carry-out the appropriate amendment in the Act so as to prescribe that MAT provisions will not be applicable to FIIs/FPIs not having a place of business / permanent establishment in India, for the period prior to 01.04.2015.

 The field authorities are accordingly advised to take into consideration the above position and keep in abeyance, for the time being, the pending assessment proceedings in cases of FIIs/FPIs involving the above issue. They are further advised not to pursue the recovery of outstanding demands, if any, in such cases. An instruction to this effect has been issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) here yesterday.

Minimum Alternate Tax applicability clarified: MAT not applicable to FIIs/FPIs without Indian permanent establishment, assessments stayed. The Government will amend the income-tax law to clarify that Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) under Section 115JB does not apply to Foreign Institutional Investors/Foreign Portfolio Investors (FIIs/FPIs) that do not have a place of business or permanent establishment in India for the period prior to 01.04.2015; field authorities are instructed to keep related assessments in abeyance and not to pursue recovery of outstanding demands in such cases.