COVID-19-related updates

• Bhutan: Tour operators, hotels and airline companies may defer the payment of business income tax or corporate income tax for income year 2019 until 30 June 2022, if they request a deferral from the tax authorities. This relief measure, originally announced in June 2021 to apply until the end of the calendar year, was extended in a notification issued on 30 December 2021.
• Canada (Quebec): In a press conference held on 1 February 2022, the Quebec Premier announced that the provincial government has abandoned the plan to impose a health tax on individuals who remain unvaccinated for COVID-19 without a valid medical reason.
• Hong Kong: Due to the increasing number of COVID-19 cases, the Inland Revenue Department issued a letter on 14 January 2022 extending the deadline for filing 2020/21 profits tax returns for loss cases with accounting date code “M” (i.e., accounting dates that fall between 1 January 2021 to 31 March 2021) from 31 January 2022 to 28 February 2022.
• India: A circular issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes on 11 January 2022 extends the deadline for filing the income tax return for assessment year 2021/22 from the original due date of 31 October 2021 to 15 March 2022 and returns that were due by 30 November 2021 now may be filed by 15 March 2022. The deadline for the submission of audit reports also has been extended. 
• Indonesia: The ministry of finance issued a regulation on 31 December 2021 that extends healthcare-related tax incentives that were due to expire at the end of 2021, to 30 June 2022. In addition to a VAT exemption for certain supplies, an exemption from withholding tax is granted for the following parties:
  • Government agencies, hospitals and other authorized parties with respect to the purchase of medical supplies (e.g., medicine, vaccines, personal protective equipment, equipment for patients, etc.);
  • Certain businesses for the purchase of goods and/or materials to be used in their business operations;
  • Businesses in the pharmaceutical industry for the sale of their products to distributors in Indonesia; and
  • Additional income received by healthcare workers.
• Netherlands: In a press release issued on 28 January 2022, the government announced that the emergency deferral of tax payments by entrepreneurs and companies is extended to 31 March (the deferral already had been extended to 31 January 2022).