India chairs meeting of BRICS heads of tax authorities

The heads of tax authorities of the BRICS countries held a virtual meeting on Wednesday and discussed challenges faced by tax administrations of the member countries in the digital era and in the situation created by COVID-19.

The heads of tax authorities of the BRICS countries held a virtual meeting on Wednesday and discussed challenges faced by tax administrations of the member countries in the digital era and in the situation created by COVID-19. The meeting was held under the chairship of India and Revenue Secretary Tarun Baja presided over the meeting.

"The BRICS tax authorities engaged in discussion on the challenges faced by BRICS tax administrations in the digital era, coupled with the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic," a Finance Ministry release said. It said that they shared experiences and devised strategies to overcome those challenges.

The broad theme of the meeting was redefining the business processes of tax administration amidst challenges posed by COVID-19 and in the digital era. During the meeting, the tax authorities also exchanged opinions and views based on the existing commitment to the principles of mutual respect, consolidation and continuity as stated in the declaration of the 13th BRICS Summit hosted by India earlier this month.

The meeting was preceded by meetings of the tax experts of BRICS countries on September 13 and 14. In this meeting, the tax experts discussed potential areas of cooperation, exchanged views and experiences.

The discussion took place around relevant topics which include digitisation of tax administration, leveraging technology for tackling tax evasion, changing role of tax administration from enforcement to service, preparedness and strategies to deal with challenges of COVID-19 and evolution of tax administration to enhance voluntary compliance by taxpayers. A communique was also issued at the conclusion of the meeting of heads of tax authorities.

The BRICS group includes five major emerging countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. (ANI)