Taxation of Market Linked Debentures reclassified as short-term capital gains taxed at applicable rates under new provision.
The proposal inserts a new provision treating gains on transfer, redemption or maturity of Market Linked Debentures as short-term capital gains taxable at applicable rates by treating the full consideration received, reduced by cost of acquisition and transfer-related expenditure, as capital gains from a short-term capital asset; it also defines Market Linked Debentures as debt-principal securities with returns linked to market returns or so classified by the market regulator and makes the change prospective.

Limit on rollover benefit under sections 54 and 54F restricts excessive deductions for high-value residential purchases.
The Finance Bill proposes a deemed cost cap so that where the cost of a new residential asset exceeds ten crore rupees, the cost for computing the deduction under the rollover relief provisions will be treated as ten crore rupees, limiting the maximum deduction. A proviso confines the Capital Gains Account Scheme deposit provision to capital gains or net consideration up to that cap. The amendments are prospective, effective 1 April 2024 and applicable to the assessment year 2024 25 and thereafter.

TCS increase on foreign remittances: higher withholding expands coverage and raises compliance burden for remitters.
Increase in the rate of TCS is proposed by amending sub section (1G) of section 206C to raise withholding on certain foreign remittances and sales of overseas tour packages; education and medical remittances retain prior treatment under specified conditions, while tour packages and other remittances become subject to higher rate without threshold, effective from the stated date in the Finance Bill.

TDS on online game winnings restructured: withholding on net account winnings and withdrawals under new targeted provisions.
Amendments require TDS on winnings to be applied to amounts or aggregates exceeding the threshold in a financial year; section 194B is expanded to include gambling and excludes online games from 1 July 2023. A new section 194BA mandates TDS on net winnings in user accounts at year-end and on withdrawals, with prescribed computation and payer obligations where winnings are in kind. Administrative guidelines may be issued to resolve implementation issues. Definitions for computer resource, internet, online game, online gaming intermediary, user and user account are prescribed. Section 115BB is amended to exclude online-game winnings and a new section 115BBJ establishes a separate tax computation for net winnings from online games integrated into overall tax liability.

Presumptive taxation restrictions: bar on set off of carried forward losses and unabsorbed depreciation when presumptive profits are declared.
The Bill proposes that where an assessee declares profits under the presumptive taxation scheme for specified non resident activities, no set off of unabsorbed depreciation or brought forward business loss shall be allowed for that previous year, notwithstanding the general set off and carry forward provisions; the amendment is prospective and will apply from the notified effective date.

TDS exemption removal on interest requires withholding for payments on listed dematerialized debentures to resident holders.
The Finance Bill proposes deletion of the proviso clause that exempted TDS on interest paid to resident holders of listed dematerialized debentures, thereby requiring tax deduction at source on interest payments to such resident holders; the amendment addresses under-reporting of interest income and takes effect from 1 April, 2023.

Taxation of business trust distributions: non-characterised payouts to unit holders treated as taxable income from other sources.
Proposed amendments tax sums received by unit holders from business trusts that are not interest, dividend or rental receipts and not chargeable under the pass-through provisions by treating them as income from other sources. Where sums represent redemption of units, the receipt is reduced by the cost of acquisition to the extent of the amount received. Amendments also exclude such sums from the trust pass-through subsections and expand the definition of income to include them, with prospective application.

Tax exemption for notified news agencies withdrawn, ending clause-based relief and effective from the assessment year starting April 2024.
The finance bill withdraws the tax exemption available to notified news agencies under clause (22B) of section 10 by inserting a proviso excluding any income of such agencies for the previous year relevant to the assessment year beginning on or after 1 April 2024; the amendment takes effect from 1 April 2024 and applies to assessment year 2024-25 and subsequent years.

Deeming provision for gifts extended to not ordinarily residents, bringing certain inbound gifts within the Indian tax net.
Clause (viii) of sub section (1) of section 9 is proposed to be amended to extend the deeming rule so that sums received without consideration by a not ordinarily resident from a person resident in India are treated as income deemed to accrue or arise in India; the change is intended as an anti abuse measure to capture gifts not presently within the scope of the existing deeming provision and will apply prospectively to specified assessment years.

Certificate for lower or nil tax deduction extended to business trust interest, enabling reduced TDS where exemptions justify it.
The amendment extends eligibility for a certificate for deduction of tax at a lower or nil rate to sums on which tax is required to be deducted in relation to business trust interest income, enabling reduced deduction where exemptions (for example, for certain sovereign wealth and pension funds) justify such reduction; the change applies prospectively from 1 April, 2023.

Presumptive taxation thresholds increased for businesses and professionals, conditional on low cash receipts and audit exemption.
Eligibility thresholds for presumptive taxation schemes are increased for businesses and professionals on the condition that cash receipts do not exceed a prescribed low percentage of total turnover or gross receipts; cheques and non-account-payee bank drafts are deemed cash for this purpose. Persons declaring profits under the presumptive schemes and meeting the cash-receipt condition are exempt from the statutory audit requirement, with the amendments effective from the stated assessment year.

Amortization of preliminary expenditure: approval requirement removed; assessee must file prescribed statement to claim deduction.
Amendment removes the Board approval requirement for entities performing preparatory activities tied to amortization of preliminary expenditure and replaces it with a requirement that the assessee furnish a prescribed statement containing particulars of such expenditure to the prescribed income tax authority within the prescribed period and form; effective from 1 April 2024 for the relevant assessment year.

Concessional tax regime for new manufacturing co-operative societies, subject to eligibility conditions, irrevocable option and transfer pricing checks.
A new concessional tax regime permits resident new manufacturing co-operative societies to elect an irrevocable concessional tax rate, subject to prescribed conditions: total income must be computed without specified deductions or set off of earlier losses attributable to those deductions, depreciation must be claimed as prescribed, non manufacturing income and certain excess profits from related-party arrangements are taxed at higher fixed rates, and specified domestic transactions are subject to arm's length pricing; limited use of previously used machinery is permitted under conditions.

Strategic disinvestment: redefined to cover government or public sector share sales reducing majority shareholding and enabling loss carryforward on amalgamation.
Section 72A is amended to expand strategic disinvestment to include sale of shareholding by the Central Government, State Government or a Public Sector Company that reduces their shareholding below fifty-one per cent and transfers control to the buyer; transfer of control may be effected by any one or more of those entities. Section 72AA is amended to allow carry forward and set off of accumulated losses and unabsorbed depreciation where banking companies amalgamate with another banking institution or company within five years of such strategic disinvestment. The amendments take effect from 1 April 2023.

Exemption for statutory development authorities expanded to cover non-company bodies providing public services, subject to notification.
Income of a body or authority or Board or Trust or Commission, not being a company, established or constituted by Central or State Act for specified public purpose objects (housing, planning/development of settlements, regulating or developing activities for public benefit, or regulating matters arising from their object) is proposed to be exempted under a new clause, subject to Central Government notification in the Official Gazette; consequential statutory amendments follow and the change applies prospectively to the relevant assessment year.

Tax exemption for ODI distributions prevents double taxation, easing IFSC banking unit pass-through of taxed income.
Amendments extend the transfer period for original funds to resultant funds on relocation, exempt income distributed to non-resident holders of Offshore Derivative Instruments provided the income was charged to tax in the IFSC banking unit and will incorporate IFSCA (Fund Management) Regulations, 2022 into the definitions of specified, resultant and investment funds to align statutory definitions with the regulatory regime.

Conversion of Gold to Electronic Gold Receipt: excluded from transfer for capital gains; cost basis and holding period preserved.
Conversion between physical gold and an Electronic Gold Receipt issued by a Vault Manager is proposed to be excluded from the definition of transfer for capital gains. The cost of acquisition of an EGR will be deemed the cost of the underlying gold in the hands of the person in whose name the EGR is issued, and vice versa for gold released against an EGR. The holding period for capital gains will include periods during which the gold or the EGR was held prior to conversion.

Extension of start up incorporation cutoff expands section 80 IAC eligibility, applying from the stated effective assessment year onward.
The amendment extends the incorporation cutoff so that enterprises incorporated on or before 1st April 2024 qualify as eligible start ups for the three year full deduction under section 80 IAC, subject to the existing turnover ceiling, Inter Ministerial Board certification and other statutory conditions, and is to have effect from 1st April 2023 for the relevant assessment year and subsequent years.

Carry-forward loss relief extended for startups, easing shareholding continuity requirement to permit set-off of past losses.
Amendment extends the proviso to the carry forward and set off rule so that eligible start-ups may set off carried forward losses incurred within ten years of incorporation under the existing shareholders-continuity relaxation, aligning this period with the ten-year reference in the start-up incentive provision; the change applies from the assessment year 2023-24.

Cash transaction limit relief for primary co operatives raises the threshold before penalty for member transactions.
The amendments raise the electronic payment threshold for primary agricultural credit societies and primary co operative agricultural and rural development banks so that acceptance of loans or deposits from, or repayment to, their members will be required to be by account payee cheque, account payee bank draft or online bank transfer only where the amount equals or exceeds two lakh rupees; penalties will attach only above that threshold.