The Finance Minister, in his budget speech, while acknowledging the limitations under the existing law, had conveyed the considered decision of the Government to enact a comprehensive new law on black money to specifically deal with black money stashed away abroad. He also promised to introduce the new Bill in the current Session of the Parliament. In order to fulfil the commitment made by the Government to the people of India through the Parliament, the Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets (Imposition of Tax) Bill, 2015 has been introduced in the Parliament on 20.03.2015. The Bill provides for separate taxation of any undisclosed income in relation to foreign income and assets. Such income will henceforth not be taxed under the Income-tax Act but under the stringent provisions of the proposed new legislation.

The Finance Bill 2015, as introduced in the Lok Sabha today, 28.02.2015, is available for download

The creation of two additional benches of the Authority would dispose of increased number of cases and pendency of cases would be reduced benefitting the tax payer and the Government. Besides, this will operationalise the facility of advance ruling for resident tax payers. The proposed additional Benches of Authority for Advance Rulings (Income Tax) will facilitate the cause of the resident tax payers in obtaining tax clarity in certain situations

The CBDT has issued Circular No. 3/2015 dated 12.02.2015 in which it has issued a clarification regarding the expression “amounts not deductible” under section 40(a)(i) of the Income-tax Act, 1961. The CBDT has referred to its earlier Instruction No. 02/2014 dated 26.02.2014 and clarified that for the purpose of making disallowance of “other sum chargeable” under section 40(a)(i) of the Act, the appropriate portion of the sum which is chargeable to tax under the Act shall form the basis of such disallowance and shall be the same as determined by the AO having jurisdiction for the purpose of section 195(1) of the Act