New Delhi, Feb 8 (KNN) The government may soon come up with the solution to fix the tax concerns of startups, said Sushil Chandra, Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).

While speaking at an event organized by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), Chandra said, “We will find a solution based on the received suggestions. We will have to decide on which are the real startups that can be exempted from Section 56 (2) of the Income Tax Act.”

In addition, he stated that any startups recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is exempt from Section 56 (2) and the tax notices sent to startups have been stayed.

Various startups had raised concerns over the notices sent to them under this section to pay tax on angel investments.

The CBDT chief said that last week, officials from the department, along with tax department officials, met startup industry representatives to hear their suggestions.

Chandra said the income-tax department has so far issued 420 million permanent account numbers (PAN), of which 230 million have been linked with Aadhaar, the biometric data-based identity number.

“By linking with Aadhaar, we will know whether there are any duplicate PANs or not. And If it is not linked, we may cancel the PAN also,” he said.

Adding to it he said that once Aadhaar is linked with PAN and PAN is linked with bank accounts, the I-T department can find out the spending patterns and other details of assesses.

With Aadhaar, it would be easier to gauge whether the benefits of welfare schemes are reaching those who are eligible for them, said Chandra. 

“It is not absolutely true that if we reduce tax rates, compliance goes up. During this year we have followed the policy of finding non-filers. We have got thirdparty information and we are checking whether persons are filing returns or not, whether adequate income is being shown,” he added.

Chandra said that so far this year, 9.5 million new taxpayers have been added.