India to amend tax treaty with Mauritius

India is planning amendments to the Double
Taxation Avoidance treaty with Mauritius to prevent its misuse for avoiding
taxes. “Amendments to the Indo-Mauritius DTAC (Double Taxation Avoidance
Convention) to prevent its misuse and enhance exchange of information,
including banking information, are being pursued . . .,” Minister of State for
Finance S. S. Palanimanickam said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

The changes in the treaty are being worked upon
through a joint working group constituted for this purpose, he added. Many
companies route their investments into India through tax havens to avoid
paying taxes.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) has said that all countries should permit access to bank
information for all tax purposes, so that tax authorities could fully
discharge their revenue raising responsibilities, the Minister said.

(Source : Business Standard, 5-8-2009)