TaxHeal - GST and Income Tax Complete Guide Portal

(Last Updated On: February 10, 2017)

Enabling claim of credit for foreign tax paid in cases of dispute

The existing provisions of section 155 of the Act provide for procedure for amendment of assessment order in case of certain specified errors.

In view of rule 128 of the Income-tax Rules, 1962, which provides a mechanism for claim of foreign tax credit, Finance Bill 2017 proposed to insert sub-section (14A) in section 155 to provide that where credit for foreign taxes paid is not given for the relevant assessment year on the grounds that the payment of such foreign tax was in dispute, the Assessing Officer shall rectify the assessment order or an intimation under sub-section (1) of section 143, if the assessee, within six months from the end of the month in which the dispute is settled, furnishes proof of settlement of such dispute, submits evidence before the Assessing Officer that the foreign tax liability has been discharged and furnishes an undertaking that credit of such amount of foreign tax paid has not been directly or indirectly claimed or shall not be claimed for any other assessment year.

This amendment will take effect from 1st April, 2018 and will, accordingly, apply in relation to assessment year 2018-19 and subsequent years.

[Clause 62]

Relevant Clause 62 of Finance Bill 2017

Amendment of section 155.

62. In section 155 of the Income-tax Act, after sub-section (14), the following sub-section shall be inserted with effect from the 1st day of April, 2018, namely:—

“(14A) Where in the assessment for any previous year or in any intimation or deemed intimation under sub-section (1) of section 143 for any previous year, credit for income-tax paid in any country outside India or a specified territory outside India referred to in section 90, section 90A or section 91 has not been given on the ground that the payment of such tax was under dispute, and if subsequently such dispute is settled; and the assessee, within six months from the end of the month in which the dispute is settled, furnishes to the Assessing Officer evidence of settlement of dispute and evidence of payment of such tax along with an undertaking that no credit in respect of such amount has directly or indirectly been claimed or shall be claimed for any other assessment year, the Assessing Officer shall amend the order of assessment or any intimation or deemed intimation under sub-section (1) of section 143, as the case may be, and the provisions of section 154 shall, so far as may be, apply thereto:

Provided that the credit of tax which was under dispute shall be allowed for the year in which such income is offered to tax or assessed to tax in India.”.