Lok Sabha passes taxation bill; aims to provide relief in terms of compliance requirements

Lok Sabha on Saturday passed a taxation bill that seeks to provide various reliefs in terms of compliance requirements for taxpayers amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The reliefs include extending deadlines for filing returns and for linking PAN and Aadhaar.

The Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation and Amendment of Certain Provisions) Bill, 2020, will replace the Taxation and other Laws (Relaxation of Certain Provisions) Ordinance, 2020, promulgated in March.

Among others, the bill seeks to give tax exemption for contributions made to PM Cares Fund, which was set up in March in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Replying to the debate on the bill, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the ordinance was necessary to defer various compliance deadlines under GST and Income Tax (I-T) Act during the Covid-19 times. Further, the bill seeks to make faceless assessment applicable to at least eight processes under the I-T Act, including for collection and recovery of tax and gathering of information.

"To ensure there is transparency in tax administration, that is why we are putting it (faceless scheme) in law," Sitharaman said.