- Government had constituted a committee to draft a new direct tax law to replace the existing Income Tax Act,1961.The committee was headed by Akhilesh Ranjan.It has submitted its report to the government.
- The objective of the task force was to draft direct tax laws in line with the norms prevalent in other countries, incorporating international best practices and keeping in mind the economic needs of the country.
- The key proposals made by the committee includes (a)25% corporate tax rate for all companies (b)Restructuring of slabs for personal income-tax (c)Incentives for promoting startups (d)Settling of tax disputes through mediation and (e)a shorter and simpler direct tax law.
- The task force has also suggested to bring the gist of numerous judicial pronouncements made since 1961 in one place for easy reference.This could improve the ease of doing business and reduce the compliance burden as well as tax disputes.
- The committee has also proposed amendments in Section 147 and Section 148 of the I-T Act which empowers the tax officer to reopen assessment cases based on predefined criteria.
- The task force has also recommended that tax assessment proceedings be made faceless and an option be allowed to the public to seek clarifications on tax matters from Central Board of Direct taxes(CBDT).
- The committee has also proposed the use of Artificial Intelligence(AI) in the tax-compliance and administration process.
