CHENNAI: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday announced that the Union government decided to withdraw small-ticket outstanding direct tax demands dating back from the 1960s.
To improve ease of living and ease of business, the government decided to withdraw outstanding direct tax demands up to Rs 25,000 till 2009-10 financial year and up to Rs 10,000 for financial years 2010-11 to 2014-15, she said. This would benefit about a crore tax payers, she said without mentioning the revenue implications. This should help authorities create more bandwidth and focus on matters involving considerable tax amounts.
“There are a large number of petty, non-verified, non-reconciled or disputed direct tax demands, many of them dating as far back as the year 1962, which continue to remain on the books, causing anxiety to honest tax payers and hindering refunds of subsequent years,” she said.
Sandeep Jhunjhunwala, Partner at Nangia Andersen LLP, a business advisory firm said, “This move should reduce burden on taxpayers, fostering a more conducive environment for compliance and economic growth.”