Orphaned GAAR

Even so, the exit of Pranab Mukherjee from the finance ministry has orphaned the General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR), which he announced in the Budget and defended till the end despite the many controversies it raised. With Prime Minister Manmohan Singh handling the portfolio and his office putting out a statement saying the ministry’s GAAR guidelines did not have his approval, no official wants to own GAAR any longer. On the contrary, the various divisions of the tax department – Tax Policy & Legislation, Foreign Taxation Division and Director General of International Taxation – are now busy putting the ball in each other’s court.