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Fiscal Developments 81

¾ In order to promote the furnishing of income-tax returns, a special provision has been
inserted to the Act to deduct/ collect tax at higher rates in case of certain persons who have
not filed their income tax return for both of the preceding two previous years and the tax
deducted/ collected was greater than Rs 50,000 in each of the two years. Further, TDS at
the rate of 0.1 per cent on payment made for purchase of goods by a buyer (having sales/
turnover of Rs 10 crores or more in the financial year preceding the year in which the sale is
made) to a person during the financial year exceeding Rs 50 lakh has also been introduced
in the Finance Act 2021.

CBDT’s response to COVID-19 pandemic during 2021-22

¾ The Central Government, in continuation of its commitment to address the hardship being
faced by various stakeholders on account of the COVID-19 pandemic instituted many
policies to help cope with the impact of COVID-19.

¾ Unfortunately, certain taxpayers have lost their life due to COVID-19. Employers and well-
wishers of such taxpayers had extended financial assistance to their family members so that
they could cope with the difficulties arisen due to the sudden loss of the earning member
of their family. In order to provide relief to the family members of such taxpayer it has
been announced that income-tax exemption will be given to ex-gratia payment received
by family members of a person from the employer in the event of death on account of
COVID-19 during 2019-20 and subsequent years. The exemption is proposed to be allowed
without any limit for the amount received from the employer and to be limited to ` 10 lakh
in aggregate for the amount received from any other persons.

¾ It was recognized that many taxpayers have received financial help from their employers
and well-wishers for meeting their expenses incurred for treatment of COVID-19. In order
to ensure that no income tax liability arises on this account, it has been announced that
income-tax exemption will be provided to the amount received by a taxpayer for medical
treatment for treatment of COVID-19 during 2019-20 and subsequent years.

¾ The Central Government also extended timelines for compliances under the Income-tax
Act, 1961 such as furnishing of statements, filing of income tax returns etc. The time limits
for passing various orders under various sections of Income Tax Act were also extended due
to COVID-19 pandemic.

¾ The last date of linkage of Aadhaar with PAN has been extended to 31st March 2022.

Annex 2: Indirect tax measures by CBIC during 2021-22
A. Customs

The Customs duty rate structure has been guided by a conscious policy of the government to
incentivize domestic value addition under Make in India and Atma Nirbhar Bharat initiative,
which interalia envisages imposition of lower duty on raw materials and providing reasonable
tariff support to goods being manufactured in India. The customs duty structure has been
calibrated in such way that incentivizes investment in key areas like petroleum exploration,
electronic manufacturing etc. In accordance with this policy, the MFN rates of BCD have