Buyback Tax Tweak Stir Confusion Over Surcharge Cap

Amid mixed signals around the government's latest amendment on taxation of share buybacks, Amit Maheshwary, International Tax Expert, told NDTV Profit that the proposed surcharge cap is narrowly focused and may not benefit all shareholders equally. While the amendment introduces a 12% cap on surcharge for buyback-related tax, Maheshwary noted that recent communication from the tax department suggests this relief could be limited to promoter entities, leaving individual shareholders subject to existing surcharge rates. The lack of a formal clarification has led to widespread confusion and differing interpretations ahead of the new tax regime coming into effect from April 1.