The Union Cabinet has given its approval to the new income tax Bill, which is anticipated to be presented in Parliament next week. A government official indicated that the Bill is projected to decrease the number of sections by nearly one-third.
“We have tried to reduce sections by 25-30 per cent to make the law simpler and more concise. We have removed proviso and explanations and have halved the word count,” the official said.
The authorities have not been given excessive power, the official explained. “There is no excessive case of delegation. Substantive power relating to quantification of income and levy of rates remain with Parliament. Every single rupee has to be collected after Parliamentary approval, this is the fundamental principle of taxation and it can never change. However, some provisions could be made more compact by shifting the procedural details into rules,” he added.
