Clarification regarding definition of the “accounting year” in section 286 of the Act

Section 286 of the Act contains provisions relating to specific reporting regime in the form of Country-by-Country Report (CbCR) in respect of an international group.  It provides that every parent entity or the alternate reporting entity, resident in India, shall, for every reporting accounting year, in respect of the international group of which it is a constituent, furnish a report, to the prescribed authority within a period of twelve months from the end of the said reporting accounting year, in the form and manner as may be prescribed.

Several concerns have been expressed that in case of an alternate reporting entity (ARE) resident in India whose ultimate parent entity is not resident in India, the accounting year would always be the accounting year applicable in the country where such ultimate parent entity is resident and cannot be the previous year of the entity resident in India. Accordingly, it has been requested that this unintended anomaly as regards the interpretation of accounting year in case of ARE, resident in India may be removed.

In order to address such  concerns and to bring clarity in law, it is proposed to suitably amend section 286 so as to provide that the accounting year in case of the ARE of an international group, the parent entity of which is not resident in India, the reporting accounting year shall be the one applicable to such parent entity.

This amendment is clarificatory in nature.

The amendment will take effect retrospectively from the 1st April, 2017 and will, accordingly, apply in relation to the assessment year 2017-18 and subsequent assessment years.

[Clause 67]