India has asked Australia to expedite amendments to regulations pertaining to the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA), in accordance with an understanding reached between the two sides in April, as Indian information technology (IT) companies that operate in that country continue to be forced to pay more taxes than they should. Minister of state for commerce and industry Anuria Patel has told visiting deputy premier of Western Australia province Roger Cook that the amendment should be done at the earliest to stop taxing the offshore income of Indian firms providing technical support there, the commerce ministry said on Thursday. Both the sides also acknowledged the need for an early ratification of the interim trade deal, or the India Australia Economic Co-operation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), which was signed in April. Canberra’s decision to tweak its domestic law to stop such taxation is a part of the India-Australia ECTA.
