India Inc needs be active before finalisation of tax proposals

Industry needs to be more pro-active in sharing inputs with govt officials, says tax official

Industry should be pro-active in sharing inputs before finalisation of tax proposals instead of commenting on such policies later, a top tax official said today.

Service Tax Commissioner Gautam Bhattacharya asked India Inc to be more pro-active in sharing inputs with government officials when they are in the middle of preparing direct and indirect tax proposals rather than commenting on them after such a policy documentation is finalised.

"...It becomes difficult to insert and incorporate valuable industry's inputs later on in such a paper," PHD Chamber said in a release quoting Bhattacharya.

He called upon industry to anticipate pit falls in policy documentation during the initial exercise and become a stakeholder with it rather than coming out with suggestions when the policy paper is out in public domain.

Bhattacharya was delivering his key-note address at a National Conference on Service Tax by PHD Chamber here.

"The senior functionaries in government engaged and involved with policy making are much more receptive in modern times as compared to 15-20 years ago and therefore, can suitably accommodate industry's inputs along with its perspective in the final policy document to plug possibilities of faltering and making unintended mistakes," he said.

Usually, industry reacts after policies are finalised. Though government rules can be amended from time to time to serve the industry but bringing about transformational changes in the finalised policy document is a challenge that the government faces, he added.

Clarification sought by industry on application of service taxes including education and secondary education cess, especially after the service tax has been increased to 14 per cent, would be addressed suitably by the finance ministry, he said.