India Inc has welcomed the government's decision to
defer implementation of the General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR) by a year.
"We are happy that the suggestions made by Ficci have been taken cognizance of and that there is a rethinking on GAAR. I hope that it is not merely a postponement but they will
also relook it and more realistic GAAR will be introduced," said R.V. Kanoria, president, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci).
Another industry chamber, Assocham, said the move will enhance the confidence of global investors. It appreciated the clarification that the government will remove a provision where the onus imposed on a tax payer to prove that there is no tax avoidance.
"The burden of
proof to show tax avoidance will now be on tax officials," said Ved Jain, chairman of the Assocham national council on direct taxes.
"We are happy to note that the government has considered industry views and tax rules will not be used with retrospective amendments on cases where final assessments have been made," he added.
Assocham also welcomed that capital gains tax on private equity will be halved to 10 per cent.
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