NEW DELHI: Amid the opposition's demand of a Joint Parliament Committee Probe in the Adani controversy, the Rajya Sabha also passed the Finance Bill 2023-24 and The Jammu & Kashmir Appropriation (No 2) Bill, on Monday, March 27, 2023.
Last week, amid the opposition sloganeering, the Finance Bill was earlier passed by the Lok Sabha
The Bill targets to authorise the payment and appropriation of certain sums from and out of the Consolidated Fund of India.
the Finance Bill and The Jammu & Kashmir Appropriation (No 2) Bills were returned to the Lok Sabha without discussion and the House was adjourned for the day.
The Finance Bill 2023-24, which was passed in the Lok Sabha through voice vote on March 24, has as many as 75 amendments, some significant ones include a hike in securities transaction tax on options by 23.5% and futures by 25%. This will lead to those trading in futures and options paying higher Securities transaction tax.
In a way, the move is likely to discourage Future and Option traders, as the government aims to tax them more since turnover is high in such transactions. Also the Finance Bill has effected an amendment, stripping debt mutual funds of long-term benefits.
As per the amendment, debt mutual funds have been stripped of the long-term tax benefit, if they invest less than 35% of their assets in equities.
Such mutual funds will attract short-term capital gains tax.
FM Nirmala Sitharman to move Finance Bill 2023 today