The Government of India has constituted a Committee with a view to simplify the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961, with the following composition:

(i)     Justice R.V. Easwar, (Retd.), former Judge, Delhi High Court and former President, ITAT   -   Chairman

(ii)    Shri V.K. Bhasin, former Law Secretary   -    Member

(iii)   Shri Vinod Jain, Chartered Accountant…-   Member

(iv)   Shri Rajiv Memani, Consultant     -   Member

(v)    Shri Ravi Gupta, Sr. Advocate      -   Member

(vi)   Shri Mukesh Patel, Chartered Accountant   -   Member

(vii)  Shri Ajay Bahl, Consultant     -    Member

(viii) Shri Pradip P. Shah, Investment Adviser   -   Member

(ix)   Shri Arvind Modi, IRS (IT:81009)     -   Member

(x)    Dr. Vinay Kumar Singh, IRS (IT:95006)    -   Member

The Terms of Reference (ToR) of the Committee shall be as follows: 

i)          To study and identify the provisions/phrases in the Act which are leading to litigation due to different interpretations;

ii)         To study and identify the provisions which are impacting the ease of doing business;

iii)        To study and identify the areas and provisions of the Act for simplification in the light of the existing jurisprudence;

iv)        To suggest alternatives and modifications to the existing provisions and areas so identified to bring about predictability and certainty in tax laws without substantial impact on the tax base and revenue collection; and

The Committee shall set its own procedures for regulating its work.  The Committee can also work in Sub-Groups and the draft prepared by the Sub-Groups can then be approved by the whole Committee. The Committee will put its draft recommendations in the public domain. After stakeholder consultations, the Committee will formalise its recommendations. The Committee can give its recommendations in batches. The First Batch containing as many recommendations as possible shall be submitted by 31^st January, 2016.

The Term of the Committee shall be for a period of one year from the date of its constitution.

Simplification of Income Tax Act provisions: committee to propose consultative recommendations to improve predictability in tax law. A committee is charged with simplifying the Income Tax Act, 1961 by identifying provisions causing litigation or impeding ease of doing business, reviewing jurisprudence for areas suitable for simplification, and proposing modifications to enhance predictability and certainty without materially affecting the tax base or revenue. The committee may form sub groups, publish draft recommendations for public consultation, finalise proposals after stakeholder input, and submit recommendations in batches within its one year term.