ITRAF’s conference on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) was held in Bangalore on November 8, 2016. In the wake of the 2008 global financial, turned economic, crisis, the Group of 20 (G20) nations took up a macroeconomic agenda and, as the world economy stabilized, they initiated a development agenda. This third issue completes the circle by focusing on the G20’s taxation agenda. The BEPS conference addressed international taxation issues arising from the recommendations of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project carried out by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) at the behest of the G20.
T.V. Mohandas Pai, opened the conference delivering his opening remarks, followed by Dr. Parthasarathi Shome, Chairman, ITRAF. He welcomed all the speakers and participants, and shared his views on BEPS. Thereafter, ITRAF’s book on “Base Erosion and Profit shifting (BEPS): The Global Taxation Agenda”, edited by Dr. Parthasarathi Shome, was released. The volume comprises papers authored by tax economist academicians as well as practitioners—barristers, accounting professionals, tax administrators and practicing policy economists. Dr. Ramon Dwarkasingh, Chairman, Forum on Economic and Fiscal Policy, Amsterdam, presented his views on ‘Evolution of International Taxation’. The first session of the conference included a special lecture by Rupak Saha, Director-Taxation, GE. He presented views on ‘Prevailing and Emerging International Taxation Issues’. The session ended with a panel discussion on BEPS concerns chaired by , Mythili Bhusnurmath, Consulting Editor, Economic Times/ET Now, along with Dr. Parthasarathi Shome, Ramon Dwarkasingh, Rupak Saha and Suresh Senapathy, Former CFO, Wipro.
The theme of the second session was Econometric Analysis of BEPS. The first paper on ‘Emergence of Cross Boarder Taxation and Firm Behaviour’ was presented by Dr. Ashima Goyal, Professor, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development and Research (IGIDR), co-authored with Sandhya Garg, Associate Fellow, National Council of Applied and Economic Research (NCAER). The second paper on econometric analysis, ‘Impact of Firm Characteristics and Firm Revenue’ was presented by Dr. Parthasarathi Shome, co-authored with Rohitash Chaudhary, Research Associate, ITRAF. This session was concluded with a panel discussion chaired by Suresh Senapathy. Dr. Shome, Dr. Ashima Goyal, and Rohitash Chaudhary participated.
The third session included a special lecture by Mythili Bhusnurmath on ‘BEPS- An Observer’s View’, followed by lunch.
During the second half of the conference, the fourth session included two presentations focused on specific BEPS challenges. The first presentation by Sumit Singhania, Director, MBR & Associates LLP provided ‘Alternative Mechanism to make BEPS Resolution Effective’, its primary author being Mukesh Butani, Managing Partner, BMR. The second paper by Padam Chand Khincha, Partner, H C Khincha & Co. examined the ‘Right to Soverignity and Domestic Tax Laws’, followed by panel discussion chaired by K.R. Girish, Girish Associates, along with Sumit Singhania, Padam Chanda Kincha and
K.R. Sekar, Partner, Deloitte.
The fifth session focused on specific BEPS Actions and three presentations were made. The first paper by N. Nigam, Associate Professor, Azim Premji University, examined ‘Multilaterism and BEPS- Pros and Cons’. The second paper by, Bhavna Doshi, Indirect Tax Advisor, discussed the ‘Impact of BEPS and Indirect Taxes’. The third paper by Sunil Gupta, Head of Direct Tax, Reliance Industries Limited & Former Joint Secretary, Tax Policy and Legislation, Dept. of Revenue, examined ‘BEPS Actions: Concerns and Ramifications’ followed by a panel discussion chaired by K.R. Sekar along with Nigam, Bhavna Doshi and Sunil Gupta.
The last session was allotted for Open House Speak-up chaired by Padam Kincha, with participants Ramon Dwarkasingh, Rupak Saha, K.R. Sekar, and P.V. Srinivasan, Ex-Vice President for Tax, Wipro. Various issues were discussed, and new studies to conduct, and the way forward were delineated, followed by concluding remarks by K.R. Sekar.