Assocham wants retrospective amendment withdrawn in Budget

Pitching for a non-adversarial tax regime, industry body Assocham today suggested that retrospective amendment be withdrawn in the upcoming Union Budget while calling for e-hearings, quicker IT refunds and raising the tax exemption limits.

Claiming that the atmosphere was "vitiated" due to the retrospective amendment and it drove away global investors by sending them a wrong signal, Assocham Tax Council Chairman Ved Jain said: "We are of the view that retrospective amendment made in the year 2012 should be withdrawn. It will help in improving the environment and instil confidence".

Unveiling the Budget in July last year, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had assured investors that retrospective amendments to tax laws will be undertaken with extreme caution, and said all fresh cases arising out of the 2012 amendment of I-T Act will be looked into by a high-level CBDT committee.

However, the existing tax disputes, arising out of Retrospective Amendment to the Income-tax Act, 1961, and are pending in Courts, will be allowed to reach their logical conclusions, Jaitley had said.