Constitution of GST tribunal among 60 amendments proposed in Finance Bill 2023

The government is expected to introduce a series of amendments on Friday to make revisions to the taxing ideas revealed in the budget in order to satisfy concerns highlighted by stakeholders.

When the Finance Bill, 2023 is debated in the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is expected to propose roughly 60 amendments. These will include clarifications as well as steps to soften the blow of some of the tax plans revealed in the budget.

The budget process is likely to be finished on Friday with the response to the finance bill.

According to those with knowledge of the revisions, they pertain to infrastructure investment trusts and the establishment of a GST tribunal under the Central GST Act.

The budget proposes taxing distribution profits from redemption of units by business trusts such as Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) and Infrastructure Investment Trust (InVIT) at the investor’s marginal rate beginning April 1, 2024.

The move was considered as a blow to InvITs, which constitute the backbone of the government’s asset monetisation initiative in several areas including roads.

According to the proposed modifications, these might be taxed at a lower rate as capital gains.

Individual taxpayers may also receive some relief if their income exceeds the exemption ceiling of 7 Lakh to up to 7.27 Lakh per year.

The Finance Bill 2023 included unique provisions for calculating capital gains in the case of the transfer of a market-linked debenture, which the government is likely to extend to selected mutual funds that invest up to 35% of their proceeds in equity shares of domestic enterprises.

According to the plan, the gain from the investment in market-linked debentures will be recognised as capital gains originating from the transfer of a short-term capital asset after deducting the cost of acquisition and related expenses.

This policy will go into effect on April 1, 2024. Several tax breaks have been announced in the budget for an International Financial Services Centre.

The government is likely to propose concessional withholding tax rate of 9%, against 20%, on interest payments on overseas long-term bonds or rupee-denominated bonds.