THE FINANCE BILL, 2021

Finance Bill 2021 revises tax rates, tightens assessment procedures, modernises customs processes, and reforms insurer governance. The Finance Bill, 2021 revises income-tax rates and surcharge and inserts wide-ranging amendments to direct tax law (definitions, exemptions, capital gains, withholding, assessments and limits), creates pre-notice enquiry and show-cause procedures before reassessment, establishes Dispute Resolution Committees and Boards for Advance Rulings, reforms customs and indirect tax procedures including a Common Customs Electronic Portal and time-bound inquiries, and restructures corporate-governance, capital and dividend provisions of the Life Insurance Corporation Act to enable share issuance and listing, with extensive rule making and notification powers for the Government.