
(June 29): India’s government expects parliament to pass a bill that formalises tax cuts for foreign investors buying its sovereign debt, according to people with knowledge of the matter, betting the legislation’s bipartisan nature will cut through other contentious debates.
The administration plans to table the Income Tax Amendment Bill in the lower house of parliament as early as next week to replace the ordinance notified in early June, one of the people said, asking not to be identified discussing internal deliberations. The bill requires only a simple majority and can be passed by a voice vote, the people said.
Lawmaking has been deadlocked in the ongoing session following student protests that culminated in the resignation of India’s education minister, leading to concern about whether key bills will be cleared. An ordinance is a temporary law the government can issue when parliament is not in session to address urgent matters and it must be approved by parliament within six months to remain in force.
If the bill cannot be cleared in this parliament session, the government retains the constitutional power to re-issue the ordinance and keep the tax cuts in force for another six months.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Finance didn’t respond to a request for a comment.
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