public accounts committee: Update system to curb tax evasion in entertainment sector, Public Accounts Committee tells I-T Department
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) opined that increasing affluence and changing lifestyles have contributed towards making the Indian entertainment industry a sunrise sector for the economy, with high potential for increased revenue generation.
The 51st report of the committee on ‘Assessment of Assessees in Entertainment Sector’ was tabled in Parliament on Wednesday.
It noted that the dynamic nature of the industry poses a challenge of maintaining a balance in growth of new sectors viz-a-viz ensuring that tax revenue is correspondingly enhanced with the rise in avenues of income.
“Considering these aspects, the committee recommended that to curb tax evasion, a mechanism be brought in place for continuous review of the possible sources of revenue being generated in the sector and update the systems so as to keep pace with the contemporary developments taking place in entertainment sector,” the report said.
While appreciating the initiatives taken by the finance ministry, the PAC emphasised on the need for fine tuning the e-systems coupled with efforts on rationalisation of business codes used for Income Tax Return (ITR) forms, refinement of information sharing mechanism and strengthening monitoring mechanism.
The panel, chaired by senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, suggested the endeavour should also be made to liaise with district administrations and other government agencies concerned with economic offences for enabling seamless exchange of data with the income tax department.
“This, the committee have felt, will further improve the database on assessees/ offenders and will help in cross verification of figures disclosed by them during the assessment process,” the report said.
The panel also said the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) should keep a constant watch over the rising number of high-risk assesses’ cases in new and emerging segments of the entertainment sector — augmented and virtual reality, social videos, cloud gaming, and podcasting.
