STPI has its Sunset - No extension - Revenue Secretary
THE Revenue Secretary, Sunil Mitra is not in favour of extending the Income Tax Exemption to STPI beyond 31.03.2011. In a meeting yesterday he said,
++ STPI has its sunset. There is no question of extending it. My biggest worry is that the effective rates of tax for STPI and hardware related units are only about 11-12 per cent. They are earning so much money for themselves and the country. We value that, but they should also pay their taxes.
++ Incomprehensible amounts of profits” are being claimed as deduction. “That can only happen if these are profits earned elsewhere within the Group and brought in for deductions or exemptions. These distortions have become serious.
++ Our view is that Constitutional amendment is a must for GST. We have regretted our ability to accept either the suggestions of Madhya Pradesh or that of Gujarat that they communicated in a letter or the suggestion of the empowered committee, which he conveyed through a separate letter. Their suggestions do not enable basic features of GST, which require a seamless flow of credit to neutralise the cascading effect of taxes