CBDT forms committee to study cases of HNIWs escaping abroad

New Delhi: Concerned over recent cases of high-income individuals such as Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya escaping from the country and settling abroad, the CBDT has formed a committee to study these cases and prepare an action plan for due revenue to be extracted from them and ensure that the tax authorities are not left in the lurch.

A five-member 'working group', led by a joint secretary-rank officer of the Union finance ministry, has been tasked to go into the "taxation aspects" of such high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs).

According to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) order accessed by PTI, the group will "formulate India's position for various aspects related to taxation of migrating HNWIs" and has been created on the directions of CBDT Chairman Sushil Chandra.

The board, which is the Income-Tax Department's policy-making authority, said it is creating the new team as "in recent times there has been a trend of HNWIs migrating from their country of residence to other jurisdictions".

Such ultra rich people, it said, pose a "substantial tax risk since they may treat themselves as non-residents for taxation purposes in the first jurisdiction even through they may have strong personal and economic ties with that jurisdiction".

The group will also "make recommendations for policy decision in respect of tax risks of the migrating HNIW population".

It has been empowered by the CBDT to hold consultations with various wings of the I-T Department such as investigations, foreign taxation, tax deducted at source (TDS) and others so that a comprehensive policy is evolved.