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Tax exemption for notified news agencies withdrawn, ending clause-based relief and effective from the assessment year starting April 2024.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.
TDS threshold for co-operative societies increased, altering cash withdrawal TDS applicability and retaining higher deduction rates for non-filers. The Finance Bill, 2023 amends Section 194N to treat co-operative societies as if the statutory cash-withdrawal TDS threshold were replaced by a higher threshold for the purpose of that section, effective from the start of the next financial year, while preserving the existing non-filer deduction rates and the statutory definition of non-filer.
Deductibility of sugarcane purchase price: recomputation permitted for co-operative mills where prices meet government-fixed approvals. Confirms that payments by sugar co-operative mills for purchase of sugarcane at prices equal to or less than government-fixed or approved rates are allowable as a deduction for computing business income. Where such deductions were previously claimed and disallowed, an assessee may apply to the tax authority for recomputation of total income for the relevant previous year; the authority must allow the deduction to the extent the expenditure meets the qualifying price condition and apply rectification provisions and the prescribed processing period.
Agniveer Corpus Fund tax exemption: contributions and Seva Nidhi receipts exempt, government contribution treated as salary with deduction. The Agnipath Scheme creates a non-lapsable Agniveer Corpus Fund holding Agniveer contributions, matching Government contributions and interest; Seva Nidhi is the one-time terminal package payable on completion of engagement. The Finance Bill proposes to exempt Seva Nidhi receipts from income tax and to permit deduction from total income of both the Agniveer's deposits and the Government's matching contributions, while treating the Government contribution as salary with a corresponding deduction and extending a similar deduction in the new tax regime.
Payment timing for micro and small enterprises: tax deduction allowed only on actual payment when MSMED timelines are missed. An amendment to Section 43B inserts a clause disallowing accrual-based deduction for sums payable to micro and small enterprises when payment is made after the time limits prescribed by the MSMED Act; the proviso to Section 43B will not apply to such payments, and only payments made within the MSMED timelines qualify for accrual-based deduction.
Writ jurisdiction protects review where specialised tribunals act beyond statutory powers; tribunals may only inquire into fraud. Writ jurisdiction remains available to correct a tribunal acting without statutory power; NCLT lacked jurisdiction to adjudicate MMDR Act lease disputes, so a writ challenging its order was justified. NCLT/NCLAT may inquire into allegations of fraud in CIRP, but they cannot adjudicate substantive statutory or quasi judicial disputes that require judicial review of administrative action.
Assignment of functions to customs officers affirmed, with limits, concurrent powers, revised advance ruling rules, and data protection. The Finance Bill expressly authorises the Board or the Principal Commissioner/Commissioner to assign functions to officers as proper officers, to impose ... Summary
Assignment of functions to customs officers affirmed, with limits, concurrent powers, revised advance ruling rules, and data protection.
The Finance Bill expressly authorises the Board or the Principal Commissioner/Commissioner to assign functions to officers as proper officers, to impose conditions or limitations (including by territory or goods), and to allow concurrent exercise of powers. Section 3 includes DRI, Audit and Preventive formations within customs officers. Amendments also enable rules imposing additional importer obligations to counter undervaluation, revise advance ruling fees, withdrawal and validity, confirm sole jurisdiction of the original officer for reassessment after inquiries, and criminalise unlawful publication of import/export declaration data.
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