The government signed a pact with its Singapore counterpart on 30th Dec, 2016, amending their decade-old tax treaty, gaining
indirect taxation in India
rights over capital gains. This is the third double taxation avoidance
agreement (DTAA) amended so far this financial year with a zero or low
tax jurisdiction. The other two were with Mauritius and Cyprus.
According to
tax consultants in India,
Mauritius would be the most attractive source of investments into India
for debt funds and Singapore for equity investments. Mirroring the
revised IndiaMauritius DTAA, the government has some grandfathering
provisions (having the old rule continuing to apply for some existing
situations, with the new one for all future cases) and a two-year
transition benefit to investments from Singapore. The revised pact will
take effect from April 1, 2017. For two years from that date, capital
gains tax will be imposed at 50 per cent of the prevailing domestic
rate. The short-term rate is 15 per cent at present. The full rate will
apply from April 1, 2019.
“2016 has been historic, with all three tax treaties amended… The
treaties were misused to round-trip domestic black money and bring it
back to India through these routes. There has been a significant battle
by India against black money. It is a happy coincidence that by amending
these treaties, there has been a burial to the black money route that
existed,” said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on the revised DTAA.
Mauritius and Singapore are the top two sources for
direct foreign investment in India,
about half of the total direct flow. Total FDI from Mauritius over the
past decade and a half is USD 95.9 billion. That from Singapore is USD
45.8 bn The concessional rate of 50 per cent would be subject to
fulfilment of conditions of Limitation of Benefit (LOB), an expenditure
of at least Rs. 50 lakh in Singapore in the previous financial year. It
is Rs.27 lakh in the case of Mauritius.
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