Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman assured India Inc that the taxation system will be made simpler to end harassment and also promised that she will review the criminal penal provision for those who are not complying with the corporate social responsibility (CSR) mandates.
The statement comes at a time when sharp criticism came over the added amendment in Companies Act 2013, which states that jail term of up to three years and stringent fines ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 25 lakh for executives of companies violating CSR provisions. The industry has asked Finance Minister to roll back the clause.
“She said CSR notices with retrospective effect ‘were unacceptable’ and she will put a stop to these notices,” a statement from industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoted her as telling leading industrialists at an interaction in the national capital.
“We are looking at simplification of taxes. The report of the committee on direct taxes code is expected to be released on August 15. The government will immediately take this up for consideration,” she said.
She further said that “It is our intent to reduce tax on corporate. There is no second thought on this matter. The government would consider a uniform 25 percent tax rate for all categories of corporates after there was the comfort that tax revenues were on an upward trend. “
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