No capital gains tax for start-ups over 2 years old

In order to give a fresh boost to start-ups, the Indian government has amended the Finance Bill to drop capital gains tax if shares of an unlisted company were held for more than two years.

As of now, there is no capital gains tax on share transactions in listed companies if those stocks are held for 12 months, however, shares of unlisted entities face capital gains tax of 20% even after three years. This area proves to be of concern for international investors that are investing into Indian start-ups.

After the exemptions, the government is hoping for a rise in the number of mergers and acquisitions.

The amendment was a part of finance minister Arun Jaitley’s several changes to the Bill, which was later cleared by the Lok Sabha.

The government has added that new companies opting for a lower tax rate of 25% but foregoing all exemptions cannot go back to a regime with exemptions.

Additionally, companies with agricultural income are expected to pay tax only when income starts accruing post their conversion from trusts. Jaitley has promised strict action against those who pass off their income from other sources as farm income.

"There are two categories. One is honest agricultural income. You may have a large income which is a separate case. That is a rare case. But there are some cases where people are passing off income from other sources as agriculture income. That is a case of evasion. That will be dealt with under the law. That the assessing officer can deal with," he said.

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