A non-resident having a liaison office in India, is required to prepare and deliver a statement in respect of its activities in a financial year to the Assessing Officer within 60 days from the end of such financial year under section 285 of the Act. It is proposed that the period within which such statement is to be filed, be henceforth prescribed under the Rules.

Further, in order to ensure better compliance in this respect, it is proposed that failure to furnish statement may attract a penalty of Rs 1000/- for every day for which the failure continues, if the period of failure does not exceed three months; and Rs one lakh in any other case. A new section 271GC is proposed to be inserted in this regard.

However, this penalty shall not be leviable if the assessee proves that there was reasonable cause for the said failure. It is proposed to amend section 273B to provide for this.

These amendments will take effect from the 1st day of April, 2025.