India Govt sets up Tax Policy Council headed by FM

The Indian Government said it has created a Tax Policy Research Unit (TPRU) and Tax Policy Council to be chaired by the Union Finance Minister with nine other members including Minister of State for Finance, Niti Aayog Vice Chairman, Commerce and Industry Minister Revenue Secretary and the Chief Economic Advisor. Finance secretary, Commerce Secretary and Industry Secretary will also be its members. The Council will be advisory in nature, which will help the Government in identifying key policy decisions for taxation.

The TPRU will comprise of officers from both the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) as well as economists, statisticians, operational researchers, legal experts, said an official release.

The decision is based on the recommendation of the Tax Administration Reform Commission (TARC) that have in its First Report, identified handling of tax policy and related legislation as one of the areas in need of structural modifications.

Right now this is handled in the CBDT and the CBEC. Independently of the two boards, the Tax Research Unit (TRU) and Tax Policy and Legislation (TPL) wings also send proposals to the union Finance Minister. To bring consistency, multidisciplinary inputs, and coherence in policy making, the TARC recommended that a Tax Council supported by a common Tax Policy and Analysis (TPA) unit should be established to cater to needs of both direct and indirect taxes.