« Top Headlines » Open DEMAT Account in 24 hrs  Mock Test Papers Series - I & II for Students appearing in CA Foundation January 2027 Examination.  Income Tax Rules 2026: CBDT Introduces Revised Form 161 for Penalty Waiver, Clarifies Misreporting Categories and Taxpayer Relief  ITR Filing and Income Tax Audit Deadline Extended: 5 Critical Things Taxpayers Must Know  Filing Belated ITR for AY 2026-27? Know Which Losses You Can Carry Forward and Which You May Lose  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 «  Direct tax collections may surpass indirect taxes this... Vodafone Essar replies to I-T Dept... » ESC seeks continuation of tax sops for software firms September, 08th 2007 The Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC) on Friday sought continuation of tax sops beyond 2009 for the sector. "Tax benefits under Section 10A and 10B of the Income Tax Act are helping the Indian software and services firms in achieving competitive edge. Withdrawal of these benefits will be adversely affecting the head start advantage of Indian firms especially the SMEs," ESC Chairman Sanjiv Narayan said. These tax sops for software exporters are to end in March 2009, but companies have been demanding that these incentives should continue for another five years to help the industry remain globally competitive. ESC says about 10 per cent of the SMEs in IT sector could shut shop if tax sops are withdrawn. "The SMEs should be provided tax sops for five years to fix their roots deeply in the market," Narayan added. He said if these tax sops are withdrawn, small and medium-sized IT companies would have to re-locate to special economic zones, which would be very expensive for them. Explaining the impact if SMEs moved to SEZs, ESC executive director D K Sarin said their cost in terms of rental, manpower and land would increase. Commenting on the impact of Rupee appreciation on software exports, Sarin said: "The appreciation has shaved off the margins of IT companies substantially that have been operating in a thin band of 10-15 per cent." The government has set a export target of $ 50 billion by 2008 from IT and ITes sector. Out of this, about $ 46 billion is targeted from software and services and about $ four billion from hardware segment, Narayan said.