India, Mauritius tighten scrutiny on investments

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NEW DELHI: India and Mauritius have signed a protocol to amend the double taxation avoidance settlement (DTAA), which included a principal function take a look at (PPT) to resolve whether or not a overseas investor is eligible to assert treaty advantages.
The introduction of PPT may lead to extra scrutiny of investments, with consultants suggesting that authorities will take a look at if acquiring tax advantages underneath the treaty was one of many important aims of routing investments through the African nation.
“The introduction of the PPT goals to curtail tax avoidance by making certain that treaty advantages are solely granted for transactions with a bona fide function. Nonetheless, software of PPT to grandfathered investments stays ambiguous, highlighting the necessity for specific steerage from the CBDT. Moreover, omission of the phrase “for encouragement of mutual commerce and funding” within the treaty’s preamble suggests a shift in focus in the direction of stopping tax evasion over selling bilateral funding flows,” mentioned Rakesh Nangia, chairman of Nangia Andersen India.
In Feb, the Mauritius govt had agreed to amend the tax treaty with India to adjust to OECD norms and amendments had been signed final week.
In previous there have been a number of “publish field” entities, which operated out of Mauritius solely to take treaty advantages. Now, such corporations are prone to face the take a look at because the preamble itself makes it clear that as a substitute of “encouragement of mutual commerce and funding”, now the concept is to there aren’t any “alternatives for non-taxation or decreased taxation or avoidance (together with by means of treaty buying preparations geared toward acquiring reliefs on this Conference for the oblique advantage of residents of third jurisdictions”.
The transfer is predicted to make market gamers nervous as giant flows are routed by funds through Mauritius and everyone seems to be awaiting additional cues from govt, which has up to now remained silent. Because of tax advantages supplied by DTAA, overseas funding, each direct and institutional or portfolio, have been routed by Mauritius. With modification of the treaty in 2016, when capital beneficial properties advantages had been taken away, Mauritius, which has been the biggest supply of FDI, has now slipped to fourth spot.



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