« Top Headlines » Open DEMAT Account in 24 hrs  CBDT Extends Tax Audit Report Deadline to October 21, ITR Filing Last Date to November 21 for AY 2026-27  CBDT Extends AY 2026-27 ITR Filing Deadline for Tax-Audit Cases: New Dates and Key Compliance Details  Foreign Assets Missing From Your ITR? Income Tax Department Opens One-Time Disclosure Window  Tax Audit Deadline September 30: Why AIS, TDS and GST Figures May Not Match Your ITR and What Taxpayers Should Do  Tax audit deadline September 30: Common mistakes taxpayers should avoid  Your ITR says ‘verified’, but the refund hasn’t arrived? 5 reasons why your money could be stuck  Missed the ITR Deadline but TDS Refund Is Due? Here’s How You Can Still Claim Your Money  ITAT Cuts ?4.85 Lakh Penalty After ?14.02 Lakh Interest Income Was Missed in ITR  ITR filed under old regime, tax calculated under new regime; Delhi ITAT gives taxpayer relief  ITAT Delhi Quashes Tax Notice on AMU PG Student’s ?18.34 Lakh Stipend, Declares It Tax-Free Under Section 10(16)  Advance tax deadline September 15: What happens if you missed the previous instalment payment? «  Bhopal tops personal I-T growth... Vodafone move High Court against income-tax dept... » IT dept seeks STPI sops for 2 more years January, 10th 2008 The Department of Information Technology is pushing for a two-year extension of tax sops under the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) scheme under Section 10(A) and Section 10(B) of the Income-Tax Act.   We are pushing the finance ministry to extend these sops for at least two years. This is important for smaller players, a department official told Business Standard.   The finance ministry might not be in a hurry to announce a decision in the coming Budget, the official said. We are formulating alternatives, but are trying to push for an extension. The finance ministry may put off a decision, he said.   Under the STPI scheme, 100 per cent tax deduction on profits under Section 10A and Section 10B is available only up to March 31, 2009. The companies will have to pay tax at an estimated rate of 33.99 per cent in the absence of these deductions.   Communications and Information Technology minister A Raja had earlier written to Finance Minister P Chidambaram seeking a 10-year extension of the scheme that exempts export revenues of software companies from tax.   IT industry body Nasscom, in its pre-Budget memorandum, has appealed to the finance ministry to extend this tax exemption. The STPI scheme, reasons Nasscom, has been a big success and a major contributor to the growth of the Indian economy. It said the withdrawal of the exemptions would increase the industrys cost substantially and put the Indian IT companies at a disadvantage to global peers.   The finance ministry is yet to take a final decision. It, however, is not in favour of extending the tax benefits in an attempt to stem the tax revenue forgone. In 2006-07, the revenue forgone on account of sections 0A/10AA/10B/10BA was estimated at Rs 12,524 crore, an increase of 44.65 per cent over the Rs 8,658 crore forgone on this account during 2004-05.   Interestingly, an ICRIER (Indian Council of Research on International Economic Relations) study commissioned by the finance ministry has recommended that the income tax exemptions to export-oriented units (EoU) and under the STPI scheme should continue beyond the phaseout date of March 31, 2009.   According to the study, the revenue loss incurred by the government due to the exemptions would be around Rs 8,186 crore, while foreign exchange inflows would be to the tune of Rs 3,53,000 crore.   According to the study, IT exports from over 6,000 STPI units constituted 97.8 per cent of the total infotech exports of $23 billion in 2005-06.