« Top Headlines » Open DEMAT Account in 24 hrs  The Government of India has strengthened MSME protection through strict payment rules, ensuring that Micro & Small Enterprises receive timely payments from buyers. Under the MSME Development Act (MSMED Act), 2006, buyers must make payments within:  ITR Refund Delays in India: Why They Happen & How to FastTrack Your Refund in 2025  ITR Refund Delay: From Bank Errors To Department Checks, 5 Big Reasons Your Refund Gets Stuck  Income Tax Slabs 2025: New Vs Old Regime; Which One Is Better For You For FY2025-26?  Seamless Integration: How Tally Prime Connects Businesses to the Digital Economy  Govt to notify new ITR forms, Income Tax Act 2025 rules by January 2026: CBDT chief  Digital Efficiency for MSMEs: The Tally Prime Advantage  5 Ways Tally Prime Reduces Cost and Boosts Productivity for Startups  Result of the Information Systems Audit [ISA] Assessment Test held on 8th November 2025 is likely to be declared on late evening (around 9 pm) of 16th November 2025.  Income Tax: What is revised I-T return which you can file till the end of the calendar year?  Creating Vouchers Directly from Bank Statements in Tally Prime A Complete Step-by-Step Guide «  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.