NEW DELHI: Multinational companies like Cairn and Vodafone have a reason to cheer as the Centre on Thursday introduced a Bill to forego its power to collect back-dated income tax.
The Bill was introduced by Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Lok Sabha. As per the provisions of the Bill, no retrospective tax demand will be made if the transaction was done before May 28, 2012. The move will come as a major relief to companies like Cairn Energy and Vodafone, and is likely to end their long-standing legal dispute with the Centre on the taxation issues.
“The Bill proposes to amend the Income-tax Act, 1961 so as to provide that
no tax demand shall be raised in future on the basis of the said retrospective amendment for any indirect transfer of Indian assets if the transaction was undertaken before May 28, 2012,” Sitharaman said in a written statement along with the Bill.
“It is further proposed to provide that the demand raised for indirect transfer of…