General Anti-Avoidance Rule expanded to permit concurrent or substitutive application, increasing substance-over-form scrutiny.
Clause 183 expands the statutory reach of the General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR) by expressly permitting GAAR to apply "in addition to, or in lieu of" any other basis for determination of tax liability, while maintaining application "as per such guidelines and subject to such conditions, as prescribed." The clause enables authorities to apply a substance-over-form approach, allowing concurrent or exclusive use of GAAR alongside specific anti-avoidance or substantive provisions, and thereby alters the relationship between GAAR and SAARs previously left ambiguous under Section 101.

General Anti Avoidance Rule: clause makes GAAR an overriding tool but conditions its use on prescribed procedural guidelines.
Clause 183 preserves GAAR's authority to apply "in addition to, or in lieu of" other bases for tax determination, enabling recharacterisation of arrangements based on substantive economic realities. It uniquely conditions GAAR's exercise on "guidelines and...conditions, as prescribed," thereby mandating subordinate guidance to define thresholds, approval processes, taxpayer rights, documentation and timelines, with the intent of reducing arbitrariness and enhancing predictability compared with the earlier framework.