India urges for wider information sharing under tax treaties within BRICS

The tax heads of other BRICS nations shared the measures taken by their respective tax administrations and their thoughts on other agenda items like tax challenges posed by digitalisation and exchange of information.

New Delhi: India pitched for wider sharing of information exchanged under tax treaties among BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – for countering corruption, money laundering and terrorist financing, at the meeting of tax heads held on Friday.

India batted for adopting a “whole of government approach” in dealing with crossborder financial crimes, as they have ramifications in respect of various statutes, not only taxation, said finance secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey, who represented India via video conferencing.

India also asked for sharing of Covid-19 related tax measures taken by respective tax administrations to enhance the country’s understanding of fiscal and economic impact of the pandemic.

The knowledge sharing would also aid in further evaluating various possibilities in assisting the government’s efforts in containing the pandemic, said Pandey.