Rajya Sabha sends back Finance Bill 2017 with 5 amendments; here's what they are

UPDATE: Lok Sabha rejected amendments in Finance Bill recommended by Rajya Sabha, passed the bill without amendments.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitely's Finance Bill 2017 failed to receive favour in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. 

The bill was debated in Rajya Sabha where opposition parties criticised the manner in which it was passed in Lok Sabha and asked for five amendments. 

Among the opposition parties, Congress' MP Digvijaya Singh moved three clause of the bill while other two amendments about political funding and Aadhaar becoming mandatory for filing I-T returns were introduced by Sitaram Yechury. 

Other three amendments were related to proposals made under tribunals and clause which gave powers to an assistant commissioner of income tax. 

P Chidambaram member of Congress raised issues on protection of Aadhaar numbers. 

Jaitley answered,"If firewalls can be broken, and hacking can be done, it will be done whether Aadhaar is there or not. I think Pentagon got hacked without Aadhaar being there. If technology can be breached, doesn't mean we shouldn't use technology."

Key highlights of the Finance Bill 2017: 

Aadhaar mandatory: 

Finance bill makes it mandatory for every person to quote their Aadhaar number after July 01, 2017 while applying for permanent account number and filing for their income tax returns. 

In case a person fails to provide Aadhaar number, his/her PAN number will become invalid and will be treated at par with anyone who has not applied for a PAN.  However, government may exempt a person through a notification. 

Tribunals, Appellate Tribunals and other authorities: 

Certain Tribunals are proposed to be replaced, and their functions are proposed to be taken over by existing Tribunals under other Act. 

The bill proposes merging of Chairpersons, Vice-Chairpersons, Chairmen, or other members who are currently occupying posts with Tribunals. A three months’ pay and allowances will be given to them for premature termination of their office term.

The list of Tribunals in this amendment includes several Tribunals in which the central government would normally be a party to disputes, such as those related to income tax, customs, railways, and administrative Tribunals, and the armed forces Tribunal. 

Donation to political party: 

Amendments are proposed  to remove 7.5% limit of net profit in last three financial years for a company making contribution to a political party. Also the requirement to disclose the name of political parties and the amount will be eliminated further. 

Additionally,  contributions to political parties will have to be made only through a cheque, bank draft, electronic means, or any other scheme notified by the government to make contributions to political parties.

Finance Bill 2017 contains provisions to introduce electoral bonds to make contributions to political parties. 

Power to impose penalty by officers: The Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 and the Depositories Act, 1996 were amended in 2004 to empower the adjudicating officer to impose penalties on offenders for various offences including their failure to furnish information, documents or returns. 

Amendments to the Finance Bill, 2017 propose to clarify that the adjudicating officer will always be deemed to have had this power. 

Power to impose penalty by officers:  Amendments to the Finance Bill, 2017 proposes to lower this limit from three lakh rupees to two lakh rupees.