Revised DTC draft to take all stakeholder concerns

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said that all stakeholder concerns linked to the direct taxes code will be addressed in the revised draft, which will be released shortly.

"The revised draft on the direct taxes code will be put in the public domain shortly... I am confident that it will take care of the concerns expressed by various stakeholders," Mukherjee said while speaking at the Annual Conference of Chief Commissioners and Directors General of Income Tax.

Mukherjee added that the Finance Ministry had come out with the first draft of the direct taxes code, which will replace the Income Tax Act, last year to seek public comments.

However, the first draft drew criticism from certain quarters for its proposals on taxing long-term savings at the term of withdrawal and imposing minimum alternate tax on the basis of gross assets.
     
The Finance Minister also announced that government will set up income tax overseas units in eight more countries, including the US and Britain, to help exchange tax-related information.
     
Besides, Mukherjee asked IT officers to monitor high growth areas in the economy to track any kind of evasion.