The Heads of Tax Authorities of the BRICS countries, namely the Federative Republic of Brazil, the Russian Federation, the Republic of India, the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of South Africa held a virtual meeting here today under the Chairship of India.Shri Tarun Bajaj, Secretary, Revenue, Government of India, in his capacity as Head of Tax Authorities in India, presided over this meeting.

The BRICS Tax Authorities engaged in discussion on the challenges faced by BRICS tax administrations in the digital era, coupled with outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, sharing experience and devising strategies to overcome those challenges. The broad theme of the meeting was redefining business processes of tax administration amidst challenges posed by COVID-19 and in the digital era. During the meetings, the tax authorities also exchanged opinions and views based on existing commitment to the principles of mutual respect, consolidation and continuity as stated in the XIII BRICS Summit, New Delhi Declaration issued on 9th September, 2021.

The meeting was preceded by meetings of the Tax Experts of BRICS countries on 13th & 14th September, 2021. In this meeting, the tax experts discussed potential areas of cooperation, exchanged views and the experiences. The discussion took place around relevant topics which include digitisation of tax administration, leveraging technology for tackling tax evasion, changing role of tax administration from enforcement to service, preparedness and strategies to deal with challenges of COVID-19 and evolution of tax administration to enhance voluntary compliance by taxpayers.

A communiqué was also issued at the conclusion of the Tax Heads meeting.

Digitisation of tax administration drives BRICS authorities to coordinate strategies for enforcement, service orientation and voluntary compliance. Heads of BRICS tax authorities met virtually under India's chairship to tackle COVID 19 and digital era challenges by redefining tax administration business processes, prioritising digitisation of tax administration, using technology to combat tax evasion, shifting toward a service oriented model to bolster voluntary compliance, and enhancing preparedness and cooperation; the meeting followed expert sessions and ended with a communique .