IT industry body Nasscom has called for a one-time amnesty window by customs authorities for software exporters, as well as easier norms on related party transactions between global offices and local branches as part of latest discussions on customs reforms for the services sector.
The issues were raised with the Centre after finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman last month announced that a significant overhaul and simplification of India’s customs system would be the next major reform on the government’s agenda, said people familiar with the matter.
Unlike other tax regimes such as income tax, goods and services ta, central excise, service tax and the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) schemes, the Central Board Of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) does not currently have an amnesty window for customs, Nasscom said in a statement. In talks with the DGFT, it pointed out that this resulted in unresolved disputes, revenue lock-up and prolonged compliance uncertainty.
Consequently, it called for a one-time amnesty scheme with voluntary, time-bound settlement of legacy cases and provisional assessments to be implemented. India’s largest industry body for the information technology and business process management industry also wants full or partial waiver of interest, penalty and prosecution upon payment of duty.
Nasscom also flagged its challenges with investigations into related party import transactions launched by the office of the Special Valuation Branch (SVB), housed under the CBIC’s Directorate General of Valuation.
Source #ET
