Union Government set up two panels to reform tax policies

The Union Government on 2 February 2016 set up two new committees in order to bring coherence and streamline the direct and indirect tax policy and administration.

The two new panels are:

• Tax Policy Research Unit (TPRU)
• Tax Policy Council (TPC)

Key highlights of Tax Policy Council

• The TPC will be headed by the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

• It will suggest broad policy measures for taxation based on inputs from the TPRU.

• The Council will be advisory in nature, which will help the Government in identifying key policy decisions for taxation.

• The TPC will have nine members: Minister of State for Finance, NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman, Commerce Minister, Chief Economic Advisor and Finance Secretary. It will also have secretaries from the department of Revenue, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and Ministry of Commerce.

Key highlights of Tax Policy Research Unit

• The TPRU will be a multi-disciplinary body to examine and analyse any fiscal or tax policy referred by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC).

• It will prepare and disseminate policy papers and background papers on various taxation issues.

• TPRU will comprise of officers from CBDT, CBEC as well as economists, statisticians, researchers and legal experts. The new committees are a follow up of Parthasarthy Shome panel recommendations on tax reforms.

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