The Government may gain Rs 35,000- 40,000 crore from the proposed retrospective amendments to the Income Tax Act.

The figure of Rs 35,000-40,000 crore is an estimation by the Income Tax Department and the exact amount will be determined only when an assessing officer completes the assessment proceedings, Mr S.S.Palanimanickam, Minister of State for Finance, said in a written reply to a Rajya Sabha question.

The amendments were introduced in the Finance Bill 2012 to draw Vodafone-type deals into the tax net. The Finance Bill 2012 has proposed about 24 retrospective amendments on the direct tax front, say tax experts.

The proposed retrospective amendments have upset industry and intense pressure has been brought upon the Government to rethink on the same.

If the retrospective amendments are made through the Finance Bill 2012, then the Income Tax Department would once again be in a position to raise a fresh demand on Vodafone for its $11.2 billion deal with Hutchison Whampoa in 2007, say tax experts.

>krsrivats@thehindu.co.in