The e-Tax guide on the general anti-avoidance provision under section 33 of the Income Tax Act 1947 (ITA) has been revised by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) to include two new examples of tax avoidance arrangements. These are:
- setting up of a conduit entity to obtain a treaty benefit for the purpose of avoiding withholding tax;
- assignment of debt to an offshore jurisdiction for the main purpose of obtaining a tax advantage.
Since the list of tax avoidance arrangements in the e-Tax guide is not exhaustive, IRAS has clarified that the absence of a specific arrangement in the guide does not fall outside the scope of section 33(1) of the ITA.
The e-Tax guide updated by IRAS includes details regarding the Section 33A Surcharge, which will come into effect from YA 2023. The guide outlines how the surcharge will be imposed, the remission, and payment of the surcharge.
You can refer to the e-Tax guide on IRAS website