Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation and Amendment of Certain Provisions) Act, 2020

Insertion of new section “130”   “130. Faceless jurisdiction of income-tax authorities. (1) The Central Government may make a scheme, by notification in the Official Gazette, for the purposes of— (a)   exercise of all or any of the powers and performance of all or any of the functions conferred on, or, as the case may be, assigned to income-tax authorities by or under this Act as referred to in section 120; or (b)   vesting the jurisdiction with the Assessing Officer as referred to in section 124; or (c)   exercise of power to transfer cases under section 127; or (d)   exercise of jurisdiction in case of change of incumbency as referred to in section 129,     so as to impart greater efficiency, transparency and accountability by— (i)   eliminating the interface between the income-tax authority and the assessee or any other person, to the extent technologically feasible; (ii)   optimising utilisation of the resources through economies of scale and functional specialisation; (iii)   introducing a team-based exercise of powers and performance of functions by two or more income-tax authorities, concurrently, in respect of any area or persons or classes of persons or incomes or classes of income or cases or classes of cases, with dynamic jurisdiction.     (2) The Central Government may, for the purpose of giving effect to the scheme made under sub-section (1), by notification in the Official Gazette, direct that any of the provisions of this Act shall not apply or shall apply with such exceptions, modifications and adaptations as may be specified in the notification:     Provided that no direction shall be issued after the 31st day of March, 2022.     (3) Every notification issued under sub-section (1) and sub-section (2) shall, as soon as may be after the notification is issued, be laid before each House of Parliament.”;

Amendment of section 115TD (i)   for the words, figures and letters “under section 12AA or section 12AB” wherever they occur, the words, figures and letters “under section 12AA” shall be substituted and shall be deemed to have been substituted with effect from the 1st day of June, 2020; (ii)   for the words, figures and letters “under section 12AA” wherever they occur, the words, figures and letters “under section 12AA or section 12AB” shall be substituted with effect from the 1st day of April, 2021;

Amendment of section 115JEE “(2A) The provisions of this Chapter shall not apply to specified fund referred to in clause (c) of the Explanation to clause (4D) of section 10.”;

Amendment of section 115BBDA (i)   for the words, figures and letters “under section 12A or section 12AA or section 12AB”, the words, figures and letters “under section 12A or section 12AA” shall be substituted and shall be deemed to have been substituted with effect from the 1st day of June, 2020; (ii)   for the words, figures and letters, “under section 12A or section 12AA” the words, figures and letters “under section 12A or section 12AA or section 12AB” shall be substituted with effect from the 1st day of April, 2021;

Amendment of section 115AD (a)   in sub-section (1),— (i)   in the opening portion, for the words “Foreign Institutional Investor”, the words “specified fund or Foreign Institutional Investor” shall be substituted; [(ii)   after the long line, for clause (i), the following clause shall be substituted, namely:— “(i)   the amount of income-tax calculated on the income in respect of securities referred to in clause (a), if any, included in the total income,— (A)   at the rate of twenty per cent. in case of Foreign Institutional Investor; (B)   at the rate of ten per cent. in case of specified fund:     Provided that the amount of income-tax calculated on the income by way of interest referred to in section 194LD shall be at the rate of five per cent.;] (iii)   in clause (iv), for the words “Foreign Institutional Investor”, the words “specified fund or Foreign Institutional Investor” shall be substituted; (b)   after sub-section (1), the following sub-section shall be inserted, namely:— “(1A)   Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), in case of specified fund, the provision of this section shall apply only to the extent of income that is attributable to units held by non-resident (not being a permanent establishment of a non-resident in India) calculated in the prescribed manner.”; (c)   in sub-section (2), for the words “Foreign Institutional Investor”, at both the places where they occur, the words “specified Fund or Foreign Institutional Investor” shall be substituted; (d)   in the Explanation, for clause (b), the following clauses shall be substituted, namely:— ‘(b)   the expression “permanent establishment” shall have the meaning assigned to it in clause (iiia) of section 92F; (c)   the expression “securities” shall have the meaning assigned to it in clause (h) of section 2 of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 (42 of 1956); (d)   the expression “specified fund” shall have the same meaning assigned to it in clause (c) of the Explanation to clause (4D) of section 10.’;

Amendment of section 80G (a)   in sub-section (2), in clause (a), in sub-clause (iiia), after the word “Fund”, the words and brackets “or the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES FUND)” shall be inserted and shall be deemed to have been inserted with effect from the 1st day of April, 2020; (b)   in sub-section (5),— (i)   with effect from the 1st day of June, 2020,— (A)   in clause (vi), for the words “approved by the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner;” the words “approved by the Commissioner in accordance with the rules made in this behalf; and” shall be substituted and shall be deemed to have been substituted; (B)   clauses (viii) and (ix) shall be omitted and shall be deemed to have been omitted; (ii)   with effect from the 1st day of April, 2021,— (A)   in clause (vi), for the words “approved by the Commissioner in accordance with the rules made in this behalf; and”, the words “approved by the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner;” shall be substituted; (B)   after clause (vii), the following clauses shall be inserted, namely:—     “(viii) the institution or fund prepares such statement for such period as may be prescribed and deliver or cause to be delivered to the prescribed income-tax authority or the person authorised by such authority such statement in such form and verified in such manner and setting forth such particulars and within such time as may be prescribed:     Provided that the institution or fund may also deliver to the said prescribed authority, a correction statement for rectification of any mistake or to add, delete or update the information furnished in the statement delivered under this sub-section in such form and verified in such manner as may be prescribed; and     (ix) the institution or fund furnishes to the donor, a certificate specifying the amount of donation in such manner, containing such particulars and within such time from the date of receipt of donation, as may be prescribed:     Provided that the institution or fund referred to in clause (vi) shall make an application in the prescribed form and manner to the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner, for grant of approval,— (i)   where the institution or fund is approved under clause (vi) [as it stood immediately before its amendment by the Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation and Amendment of Certain Provisions) Act, 2020], within three months from the 1st day of April, 2021; (ii)   where the institution or fund is approved and the period of such approval is due to expire, at least six months prior to expiry of the said period; (iii)   where the institution or fund has been provisionally approved, at least six months prior to expiry of the period of the provisional approval or within six months of commencement of its activities, whichever is earlier; (iv)   in any other case, at least one month prior to commencement of the previous year relevant to the assessment year from which the said approval is sought:     Provided further that the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner, on receipt of an application made under the first proviso, shall,— (i)   where the application is made under clause (i) of the said proviso, pass an order in writing granting it approval for a period of five years; (ii)   where the application is made under clause (ii) or clause (iii) of the said proviso,—     (a) call for such documents or information from it or make such inquiries as he thinks necessary in order to satisfy himself about—     (A) the genuineness of activities of such institution or fund; and     (B) the fulfilment of all the conditions laid down in clauses (i) to (v);     (b) after satisfying himself about the genuineness of activities under item (A), and the fulfilment of all the conditions under item (B), of sub-clause (a),—     (A) pass an order in writing granting it approval for a period of five years; or     (B) if he is not so satisfied, pass an order in writing rejecting such application and also cancelling its approval after affording it a reasonable opportunity of being heard; (iii)   where the application is made under clause (iv) of the said proviso, pass an order in writing granting it approval provisionally for a period of three years from the assessment year from which the registration is sought,     and send a copy of such order to the institution or fund:     Provided also that the order under clause (i), sub-clause (b) of clause (ii) and clause (iii) of the first proviso shall be passed in such form and manner as may be prescribed, before expiry of the period of three months, six months and one month, respectively, calculated from the end of the month in which the application was received:     Provided also that the approval granted under the second proviso shall apply to an institution or fund, where the application is made under—     (a) clause (i) of the first proviso, from the assessment year from which approval was earlier granted to such institution or fund;     (b) clause (iii) of the first proviso, from the first of the assessment years for which such institution or fund was provisionally approved;     (c) in any other case, from the assessment year immediately following the financial year in which such application is made.”;     (c) sub-section (5E) shall be omitted and shall be deemed to have been omitted with effect from the 1st day of June, 2020;     (d) after sub-section (5D), the following sub-section shall be inserted with effect from the 1st day of April, 2021, namely:—     “(5E) All applications, pending before the Commissioner on which no order has been passed under clause (vi) of sub-section (5) before the date on which this sub-section has come into force, shall be deemed to be

Amendment of section 56 (a)   with effect from the 1st day of June, 2020,— (i)   in clause (v), in the proviso, in clause (g), for the words, figures and letters “section 12AA or section 12AB”, the word, figures and letters “section 12AA” shall be substituted and shall be deemed to have been substituted; (ii)   in clause (vi), in the proviso, in clause (g), for the words, figures and letters “section 12AA or section 12AB”, the word, figures and letters “section 12AA” shall be substituted and shall be deemed to have been substituted; (iii)   in clause (vii), in the second proviso, in clause (g), for the words, figures and letters “section 12AA or section 12AB”, the word, figures and letters “section 12AA” shall be substituted and shall be deemed to have been substituted; (b)   with effect from the 1st day of April, 2021,— (i)   in clause (v), in the proviso, in clause (g), for the word, figures and letters “section 12AA”, the words, figures and letters “section 12AA or section 12AB” shall be substituted; (ii)   in clause (vi), in the proviso, in clause (g), for the word, figures and letters “section 12AA”, the words, figures and letters “section 12AA or section 12AB” shall be substituted; (iii)   in clause (vii), in the second proviso, in clause (g), for the word, figures and letters “section 12AA”, the words, figures and letters “section 12AA or section 12AB” shall be substituted; (c)   in clause (x), in the proviso, in clause (VII),— (i)   for the words, figures and letters “section 12A or section 12AA or section 12AB”, the words, figures and letters “section 12A or section 12AA” shall be substituted and shall be deemed to have been substituted with effect from the 1st day of June, 2020;

Amendment of section 35AC (i)   in sub-section (4)— (a)   in clause (i), for the word “Committee”, the words and brackets “the Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemption) or the Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemption)” shall be substituted; (b)   in clause (ii), for the words “National Committee”, the words and brackets “the Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemption) or the Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemption)” shall be substituted; (c)   in the long line, for the words “National Committee”, the words and brackets “the Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemption) or the Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemption)” shall be substituted; (d)   in the proviso, for the words “National Committee”, the words and brackets “the Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemption) or the Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemption)” shall be substituted; (ii)   in sub-section (5),— (a)   in clause (i), for the words “National Committee”, the words and brackets “the Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemption) or the Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemption)” shall be substituted; (b)   in the first proviso, for the words “National Committee”, the words and brackets “the Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemption) or the Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemption)” shall be substituted; (iii)   in sub-section (6), in clause (ii), after the words “National Committee”, the words and brackets “or the Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemption) or the Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemption), as the case may be,” shall be inserted;

Amendment of section 35 (a)   in sub-section (1),— (i)   with effect from the 1st day of June, 2020, in clause (iii), in the Explanation,— (A)   for the words, brackets, figures and letter “to which clause (ii) or clause (iii) or to a company to which clause (iia)”, the words, brackets and figures “to which clause (ii) or clause (iii)” shall be substituted and shall be deemed to have been substituted; (B)   for the words, brackets, figures and letter “clause (ii) or clause (iii) or to a company referred to in clause (iia)”, the words, brackets and figures “clause (ii) or clause (iii)” shall be substituted and shall be deemed to have been substituted; (ii)   with effect from the 1st day of April, 2021, in sub-clause (iii), in the Explanation,— (A)   for the words, brackets and figures “to which clause (ii) or clause (iii)”, the words, brackets, figures and letter “to which clause (ii) or clause (iii) or to a company to which clause (iia)” shall be substituted; (B)   for the words, brackets and figures “clause (ii) or clause (iii)”, the words, brackets, figures and letter “clause (ii) or clause (iii) or to a company referred to in clause (iia)” shall be substituted; (iii)   the fifth and sixth provisos occurring after clause (iv) shall be omitted and shall be deemed to have been omitted with effect from the 1st day of June, 2020; (iv)   after the fourth proviso occurring after clause (iv), the following provisos shall be inserted with effect from the 1st day of April, 2021, namely:—     “Provided also that every notification under clause (ii) or clause (iii) in respect of the research association, university, college or other institution or under clause (iia) in respect of the company issued on or before the date on which this proviso has come into force, shall be deemed to have been withdrawn unless such research association, university, college or other institution referred to in clause (ii) or clause (iii) or the company referred to in clause (iia) makes an intimation in such form and manner, as may be prescribed, to the prescribed income-tax authority within three months from the date on which this proviso has come into force, and subject to such intimation the notification shall be valid for a period of five consecutive assessment years beginning with the assessment year commencing on or after the 1st day of April, 2022:     Provided also that any notification issued by the Central Government under clause (ii) or clause (iia) or clause (iii), after the date on which the Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation and Amendment of Certain Provisions) Bill, 2020 receives the assent of the President, shall, at any one time, have effect for such assessment year or years, not exceeding five assessment years as may be specified in the notification.”; (b)   sub-section (1A) shall be omitted and shall be deemed to have been omitted with effect from the 1st day of June, 2020; (c)   after sub-section (1), the following sub-section shall be inserted with effect from the 1st day of April, 2021, namely:— “(1A)   Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), the research association, university, college or other institution referred to in clause (ii) or clause (iii) or the company referred to in clause (iia) of sub-section (1) shall not be entitled to deduction under the respective clauses of the said sub-section, unless such research association, university, college or other institution or company— (i)   prepares such statement for such period as may be prescribed and deliver or cause to be delivered to the said prescribed income-tax authority or the person authorised by such authority such statement in such form, verified in such manner, setting forth such particulars and within such time, as may be prescribed:     Provided that such research association, university, college or other institution or the company may also deliver to the prescribed authority a correction statement for rectification of any mistake or to add, delete or update the information furnished in the statement delivered under this sub-section in such form and verified in such manner as may be prescribed; (ii)   furnishes to the donor, a certificate specifying the amount of donation in such manner, containing such particulars and within such time from the date of receipt of sum, as may be prescribed.”;

Amendment of section 13 (VIII) in section 13, in Explanation 1, after the figures and letter “12A”, the figures and letters “, 12AA, 12AB” shall be inserted with effect from the 1st day of April, 2021;