Amendments in Finance Bill to be sought by Opposition

Finance Bill when it comes up in Rajya Sabha for a smooth passage on Wednesday, is expected to face some stiff opposition from parties in the opposition bench as it has been learnt that some opposition parties will press for amendments to the bill.

Finance Bill in its current form provides “Sweeping powers” to income-tax officers which will allow officers to conduct search and surveys without sanction from the higher authorities.

Opposition parties are expected to seek amendments in such provisions which allow sweeping powers to the income tax officers.

Another area of concern for the opposition parties is the financial contributions that corporates make to the political parties which in the current form does not require the names to be disclosed mandatorily.

Opposition parties will seek for amendment making it mandatory for corporates to disclose their names.
Congress MP Digvijaya Singh has already given the notice for the amendment on the powers given to the income tax officers in the Finance Bill.

CPIM’s Sitaram Yechury on the other hand has argued against the political funding by corporates and has demanded that transparency is crucial as the corporates may indulge in fudging accounts and gain undue tax benefits though its shell companies.